RWWBY
by praetorianprefect
Summary: A boy wakes up in a forest with no recollection of who he is or what's going on. Armed with nothing but his spirit, memories of a a world he no longer lives in (and a Colt .45), he must make his way. Or die.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: The character in this story is very loosely based on myself. In other words, only parts of my personality and interests have been transferred over. Happy reading. Cheers!

Reference note:

*Sounds*

'Thoughts'

"Speaking"

*Groan*

"What? What just happened?" I ask myself, groggily waking up in the middle of a random snowy forest.

'What's in my? Colt? How did I?' My brain jump-starts once I realize what I am holding. Quickly i remember that I had just gone to the gun range. I rented a Colt 1911 and got five… I think… magazines. I walked into the actual firing range, and then promptly woke up in the middle of a freaking forest.

'Alright.' I think, taking stock of the situation. 'What do I have on me?' I think while checking my clothes.'Black greatcoat. alright then.' I think, noticing the heavy garment. 'Black shirt.' I think to myself, peeking under the buttoned coat. 'Black and red camo cargo pants, four pockets, nice.' (Imagine the Chinese Firestarter camo from BF4) 'Five magazines: seven rounds each and one spare round.' I think, checking the lower pair of my pockets. 'Iphone, solar powered pocket charger. Neat.' I think, checking my left pocket. 'Knife: folding, something's missing.' I think, knowing that I am short something, then it dawns on me: 'My wallet, where's my wallet.' I think frantically, searching my pockets.

A wolf howls in the distance. 'That doesn't sound scary at all.' I think to myself, picking up the Colt, sliding a magazine into place, pulling the slide back, removing the magazine, topping it off with the lone bullet, and replacing it. 'All cannoned up now.' I think, holding the pistol with both hands, angled towards the ground.

Suddenly, gunshots ring out from the distance.

'Shit! Cover!' I think, rushing behind the nearest tree.

'Towards or away?' Is my next thought and, considering that I have no idea where the hell I am right now, a very important question.

'Towards.' I decide, dodging between trees as I advance.

'That.' I think to myself, coming across the... dissolving?... corpse of a massive wolf-like bipedal creature. 'Is not natural.' I think, flicking off the safety on the Colt.

A low growl sounded in front of me while I was busy examining the corpse. (Read: poking it with a stick… a long stick)

"OHSHIT!" I shout, bringing up the Colt and fire five rounds rapid into the thing's chest.

It falls over, dead. 'Some days, I have good luck. I think to myself, some of the mortal terror bleeding off. That is, until another one of those things jumps at me. I, of course, jump back, receiving a nasty flesh wound to my lower leg. "ARGGGH!" I scream out because, you know, I'm pretty much wolf-meat now. "DAMMIT MURPHY!" I shout, invoking the unholy namesake of Murphy's Law while weakly bringing the Colt up and barely managing to squeeze off two rounds before a red blur sweeps in and everything fades to black.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch2: How am I not dead?

Author's Note: This OC (and me, to a MUCH lesser extent) view Murphy as being a sort of all-seeing, all-hearing deity responsible for any and all bad luck or lack thereof.(Me sarcastically, my OC very seriously.)

"Hello? hello? Are you okay?" A familiar, childish voice asked.

In response, I groaned, rolling over. Only to end up face-first on the floor.

"Ow." I say, tired of pain in general.

"Omygoshyourealiveareyoualright?" The voice asked. 'Great, a hyper child.' I think, reaching up to find something to pull myself up.

Quickly I find a nightstand and pull myself up, eventually ending up sitting on the side of the bed that i just fell off of.

'Something doesn't feel right. And that's not just the blood loss talking.' I think, something feels strange.

"What happened?" I ask, rubbing my forehead with my palm, still not looking at the person I'm talking to.

"I could ask you the same thing." Another, deeper, male voice asked.

"What happened to my stuff?" I ask, the Colt quickly having become the single most important thing ever… of all time.

"On the nightstand." The man answered, as i look to the nightstand just next to me.

I pick up the Colt, reaching down to my pants for a magazine, only to find the lower leg (of the pants) gone. And a scar, a pretty big one. 'Wait, what happened here?' I think; I would have expected, you know, bandages, a bleeding gash in my leg, something like that.

"Magazines. Where. Give." I manage to say, still processing.

"Why would you need to carry a loaded weapon at this time? You just got up." The man said, as I pocketed my other possessions.

"Maybe because I just woke up in some random freaking forest, and then proceeded to get mauled by some Murphy Forsaken wolf-thing. In all reality, that 'weapon' is the only reliable friend I have at this point."

"No loaded weapons in the house, family rule pal. We learned that the hard way, **didn't we** , Ruby." The man said, emphasizing.

'Ruby. Name. I remember that. Where?'

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry dad?" The girl, Ruby apparently, asked her father in that voice a kid uses when they've been told something before.

"Can we get back to what happened to me? Believe it or not, I'm royally confused." I said, my thoughts finally coming together, sort of.

"Are you alright, you sound kind of weird." The little girl asked.

"What do you… When did I get a German accent?"I ask myself, finally noticing the fact that I am speaking with a slight accent.

"Huh?" The girl asks, confused.

I look up at her, only to instantly have my eyes drawn to the mirror next to her. I look at myself, into my eyes. My yellow eyes.

"The hell?"

(Author's Note: If any of you can guess where I am going appearance-wise, you will be awarded bragging rights.)


	3. Chapter 3

Ch3: [Insert name here]

"Ummmmmmmmmm." My mind going blank at the sight of my hair, which was a dark blue now, and longer than I remember it, I bring my hand up to my hair, to make sure what I'm seeing is real. While moving my hand through my hair, my hand comes upon my ear. Well, I guess I'm a freaking elf now. Great. I've got nothing against elves, they're quite awesome, especially Legolas. Back onto the topic at hand. 'Wait, is that a TAIL?!'

"Are you alright?" The man asks, noticing my quite freaked out expression.

"What… tail? I have a tail now. Fuzzy." I barely manage to mumble as I gasp my new (blue) tail. 'so, that's what felt weird.'

"Who… are you people?" I ask, idly toying with my tail.

"I am Taiyang Xiao Long, and this is my daughter: Ruby Rose." The man, now identified as Taiyang, said, his hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked, inquisitively.

'Waitaminute. What **is** my name?' I think to myself, panicking. I look into the mirror, taking in my whole appearance, before a name, and the man himself, spring to mind. 'If I can't remember my own name, I might as well pick one I like.' I think as I proudly proclaim, emphasizing the german accent.

"Kurt Wagner, at your service!" (Read: Kurt Vagner.)

"Alright then, mister Vagner. Can you explain what you were doing in the middle of the White Forest, almost totally unprepared?" Taiyang asked.

"Two questions. First: where am I? And second: why are you not freaking out about me having as tail?" I ask, desperately wanting answers.

"First of all: you're on Patch, in my home. Second: why would we freak out about you having a tail?" Taiyang answered my questions.

"Okay then. What state is Patch in, by the way?" I respond. 'Patch, I know that from somewhere.'

"State?"

"Are you sure that I'm the one that needs help pal? Because most people know what state they're in." Blank stares 'Alrighty then, not a good sign.' "Am I missing something important here?"

"Where are you from?" Taiyang asked, figuring out that something was very wrong.

"United States of America, born and raised." I say proudly, noting that that was all I knew on the subject.

"Where's that?" Ruby asks, confused.

"I'm not in Kansas anymore, am I?"

"Where?", that was Ruby.

"It's official. So, where **am** I?" I ask, 'yep, I'm probably not on Earth anymore.'

"The island of Patch, just off the coast of Vale." Taiyang explains.

'Well shit. I'm in RWBY.' I realize, finally putting the pieces together. 'Took me long enough to figure that out.'

"Next question, why am I not dead? That wolf thing probably got my femoral artery at least." I think I know what happened, but I don't want to reveal too much.

"We unlocked your Aura, it was the only way to save you." Taiyang told me.

'Sweet, now I've got an aura. Wonder what my semblance is. Considering who I currently somewhat resemble, I may have an idea.'

"What's 'aura'?" I ask, trying to keep up the illusion of incomprehension.

"Aura is the extension of our very souls: it shields us from harm…" Taiyang lectured for a bit before I interrupted.

"Could you just get me a book? You know, like 'aura for dummies' or something along those lines?" I ask, hoping to be spared the lecture that he has undoubtedly given waaay too many times.

"Sure, I'll see if we have one." He says, walking out of the room, leaving Ruby.

"Hello!" she says.

"Hi." I say, lacking emotion.

"Soo. That's a nice gun you've got there. What's it do?"

'Now there's the ruby we know and love.'

"Colt Model 1911 single-action .45 caliber handgun. Seven round magazine." I say, before pulling back the slide, ejecting the round left in the chamber. "Plus one in the chamber." I say, picking it (the round) up and tossing it to Ruby. "Now if you'd please leave for a bit, I've had quite an… eventful… day and I would love to just listen to some music and try to deal with what has happened." I say, unlocking my Iphone and picking a song (Cue Queen of the Pirates by Miracle of Sound).

I sigh as I fall back into the bed let the music… 'Wait, why's Ruby still here?'

"Yes?" I ask, looking at her while the song plays in the background.

"Can I… touch your tail please?"

"Ummmmmm." 'I actually have no idea how to respond to that.

"Sorryit'sjustthatyourtaillookssocuteandfuzzyandIjustwanna-"

"Slow down, yeesh. Sure, you can touch it." I relent, as she pokes at and pets my tail. 'This is so weird.'

"Welll then sis, I didn't think you were THAT interested in him." 'And that's Yang.'

"EEP." Ruby squeals, none too quietly, yanking my tail in the process. 'AAAGGHHHH! Shit! Faunus hearing, riight.'

"MEIN GOTT!" I shout, my ears still ringing. "That hurt." I say, rubbing the base of my tail.

"Yaaannng." Ruby whines.

"Hey." I interject before the inevitable sibling brawl. "Where's my coat?"

"On the chair."

I look over to see my greatcoat hanging on the aforementioned chair, along with a cadet cap. 'How did I not notice that?' I ask myself, getting up and placing the hat on my head.

"Why are you wearing a hat indoors?" Yang asks me.

"Why aren't you?" I respond, adjusting the hat in the mirror.

"Alright then. Dad says he's got something for you, whatever your name is."

"Kurt Wagner: Pirate, creator and marxman- sorry, marksman- extraordinaire, at your service."

"Oookaay." Yang replies.

"Pirate?! Cool!" 'And that'd be Ruby.' I grab my Iphone and turn the misc off.

"Not really, but it would be cool." I chuckle. "But where's your dad?"

"Outside."

"Onwards!" I shout, striking a pose; pointing towards the door while I point my best friend towards the ceiling, holding it at face level.

"Charge!" I shout, running out the door, Colt in hand.

When i arrive outside, I see Taiyang standing in front of a crate, upon which rest my magazines, along with a few extras.

"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition." I say under my breath, loading my weapon and grabbing the extra mags, which i shove into various pockets.

'So, what're we doing now?" I ask, reassured by the presence of a loaded weapon in a world where pretty much everything wants to kill me.

"Training." he says, pulling out his weapon, a claymore sword with an integrated shotgun, and rushing at me.

"Ach!" I shout in surprise and a none too small amount of terror.

As he swings at me (more specifically my head) I desperately want to be somewhere, anywhere else.

*BAMF*


	4. Chapter 4

Ch4: Weapons and Weapon-smiths

In a puff of purple and black smoke, I'm standing in the middle of the room I started out in.

"Well, it's official, I'm Nightcrawler." I say out loud, quite pleased with myself.

"Nightcrawler?" Ruby asks from right behind me.

"ACH!" I shout and jump forwards.

"What just happened?" Yang asked because, apparently, neither of them had decided to follow me.

"Not much really, your father let me have some ammo, and then tried to decapitate me. And apparently I can teleport. Nothing big really." I say, nonchalantly flicking the safety off of my beloved Colt.

"Why did you unsafe your weapon?" Ruby asks 'Why must she be so observant?'

"Paranoia. Made even more distinct by the fact that I ALMOST GOT FREAKING DECAPITATED BY YOUR FATHER!" I shout, keeping my weapon pointed at the floor.

"You can safe the weapon now, I was just trying to test you." Taiyang orders, having just walked into the room.

I mutter some unintelligible curses in German, in which I am now apparently at least partially fluent, before flicking the weapon back to safe.

"And to answer your question Ruby, Nightcrawler is a superhero from where I'm from." I say, unlocking my Iphone, finding a picture and showing them. "In the comics, his actual name is Kurt Wagner. And that is why I chose the name I did."

"So what is your real name then?" Yang asks.

"Hell if I know." I say, earning a stern look from Taiyang. "I don't remember anything to do with friends or family, or personal life. I just remember facts and the stuff that I enjoyed: hobbies, video games, comics, the like."

"So. What're you gonna do now?" Ruby asks. 'Waitaminute. That's actually a good question. what **am** I going to do? Become a hunter? Probably.'

"I dunno, what are you guys doing in life?" I ask, knowing full well the answer.

"We're training to become Huntresses!" Ruby says, obviously excited.

"Huntress? I'm guessing that word means something different here."

"Hunters and Huntresses protect the world from the ever-present danger of Grimm." Taiyang explains.

"Sounds cool. So, what do you use to fight these 'Grimm'?" I ask, mostly just wanting to see Crescent Rose.

"Oh no, not again." Yang mutters under her breath.

"Maybe we should go outside." Taiyang recommends, 'Yay shooting time!'

"You guys go on ahead, I've just gotta get my coat." I say, putting on the heavy garment.

'Let's see if I can do that again.' I focus on the area where I almost got decapitated… 'Nada. Focus harder. C'mon.' *BAMF* 'Haha! I've done it!...And I'm about ten feet in the air… shit.'

"AAAAACH!" *THUD* "Ooowww." I manage to stand up, despite having fallen about ten feet. "So, what about the weapons?" I ask, trying to divert attention from my painful entrance.

Ruby smiles, obviously VERY enthusiastic. "This." She says, unfolding her scythfle and twirling it awesomely, "Is Crescent Rose."

"Ember Cecilia." Yang said, her gauntlets expanding.

"Dragon's Claw." Taiyang says, pulling his sword from off his back.

"Colt Model 1911." I pause. "I'm gonna need more, aren't I?"

Ruby looks like she is about to explode with happiness, Yang looks afraid of what is soon to come, and Taiyang is trying not to laugh.

"Anyone know how to design weapons?" I ask, trying not to look too cheeky.

Ruby looks like she will explode. seriously, she looks WAY too excited.

"Ruby? You alright over there?" I ask.

"CanIpleasehelpyoumakeyourweapons?" She asks, REALLY hyper.

"Sure." I say, before she can go on another one of those allthewordsruntogether… things.

"YESSSS!" She shouts, doing a fist pump, "Illgogetmyplanningpaper!" She shouts, running inside like Quicksilver drinking coffee. 'Note to self: NEVER give her coffee.'

"You have no idea the monster you have created." Yang said, with an expression that says: you poor bastard.

"See ya." I say, walking inside, as I have no wish to accidentally Bamf inside of a wall.

"Yeah, next month." I can barely hear Yang say. 'Wohoo Faunus hearing.'


	5. Chapter 5

Ch5: Like a slumber party… with guns.

"Soo. What kinda weapon do you want?" Ruby asks, incredibly excited. This after she had, in EXTREME detail, explained how weapons worked in this universe. I wasn't by any means bored, it was actually quite interesting, but she did talk A LOT. 'Seriously, how did she not faint?'

"I'm thinking about dual cutlasses. Possibly an integrated shotgun function, but I'm not exactly sure how that would work. But I think something more simple would be better to start off with." I pretend to think for a second, building the suspense, "Maybe a bullpup assault rifle that can extend into a sniper rifle." I say, eliciting a strange look from Ruby.

"What would it do in melee?"

"I was thinking of using a combat knife that attaches to the bottom of the barrel, with a couple of extra elements added in."

"What do you mean, 'extra elements'?"

"That will be revealed later. But first, I would like to design the rifle."

"Alright." Ruby says, disappointed.

as we start to work on the weapon's design, a few questions pop into my head.

"Hey, Ruby."

"What?"

"Two questions. One: how and where am I going to build this?"

"I'm pretty sure Dad will let you use Signal's forge. Oh, yeah, Signal is a combat school, Dad's a teacher there."

"Alright. Second question: Where will I stay? I mean, I've got no job, no family, and a barely know you guys. I don't want to impose or anything, but where am I going to go?" The problem had finally become apparent.

"Let's ask Dad." Was her response.

Not much later, we were in the living room with Taiyang and Yang.

"So, can he stay?" Was Ruby's question after I pointed out my situation.

"I don't know Ruby, we barely even know him."

"Pleeeeeaaaasssseeee." Ruby said, unleashing the full force of her puppy-eyed cuteness upon her father. 'Mein Gott.' I think, 'How does anyone manage to say no to her?'

"Alright kiddo, he can stay in the guest room." Taiyang relented, "It's the one you woke up in." He told me.

"Thank you sir." I reply, sketching a two-fingered salute.

"Call me Taiyang."

"Sehr gut." I reply offhand, getting weird looks from the others.

'It's German, an Earth language."

"Earth?"  
"It's the planet I'm from."

"Alright then."

"Now that that's been settled, let's get back to designing!"

"See you guys." I call out as Ruby drags me to her room.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch6: Character Bios

Author's Note: This series starts out one year before the show; Ruby(14) is starting year two at Signal, and Yang(16) is starting year four.

Kurt Wagner

Age: 16

Appearance:

5' 7"

Dark blue hair (to just about ear level, straight)

Tail (Sun's tail except, again, dark blue)

Pointed 'elf' ears

Yellow irises

Lithe build

Semblance: Teleportation (Bamf-ing)

Weapon(s): Name

Two cutlasses: Anne and Pearl (Points if you can tell me who/what I named them after)

Bullpup AR that transitions to a sniper rifle (also collapses into an easy to carry box): Blue Death

Combat Knife: C-100

Colt m1911 w/4x magnification scope: Marxman

ANY heavy weapon he may come across

Colors: Black and (Dark) blue

Combat Clothing:

Dark blue armored plates on upper chest, shoulders, knees, elbows, upper back

Black shirt

Black and blue camo cargo pants

Black greatcoat with dark blue trim

Black cadet cap with blue detailing

Symbol: Will eventually be posted as the picture for this story.

Taiyang Xiao Long

Age: 46

Appearance:

6' 7"

Jet-black hair, cut short, straight

Heavy build

Orange irises

Semblance: Pyrokinesis

Weapon: Dragon's Breath: Claymore sword with integrated double-barreled shotgun (near the hilt on both flat sides of the blade)

Colors: Red and orange


	7. Chapter 7

Ch7: The forge

(A few days later)

"And this is the forge." Ruby said, as we entered the massive room.

"Nice." I say, taking in a location that would be more fitting to the lonely mountain Erebor than what is, effectively, a middle school for warriors.

"Now, remember, you will have to make the weapons yourself. Imbuing your weapon with your aura links you to the weapon and allows you to wield it with greater skill and strength." Ruby told me, no matter how socially challenged she is, once it comes to weapons, she is surprisingly composed.

"I think we should start with Anne." I say, heading to the materials storage.

"Let's start then!" She said, again displaying her boundless enthusiasm.

I chose to use a lightweight, burn-dust infused metal alloy for my cutlasses, they were to be straight for most of the length and have a pronounced curve towards the tip, along with a trapezoidal handguard instead of the classic curved design.

After about seven hours, we had finished forging Anne. 'I really would've thought that this would take longer,' I mused, 'But then again, this IS Remnant and I am working with someone who is probably much better at doing this than anyone else in the school.'

Four days later, on friday, I had finished my knife and was ready to show it to Ruby, who was sad about me forcing her to wait while I made some… additions to the blade. It was, essentially a k-bar with a clipping system to allow it to snap to Blue Death and act as a bayonet. And there was something else.

"Ta-da!" I say to Ruby, flourishing the knife as much as I can before holding it out to show her.

"Why's there a bipod on the bottom?" She asks, confused.

"Because I'm just that good."

"Ookaay?" She says, still horribly confused.

"Plus when I'm using it as a bayonet, it'll actually be a bipod."

"Then why didn't you just add a bipod to the gun in the first place?" Ruby asks, again, confused.

"You honestly would not understand."

"So pretty much the same reason you added a scope to Marxman?"

"Yep."

"Alright then." And thus the conversation shifted to other topics as we walked back to Ruby's home.

"So, what was life like back where you're from?"

"Honestly, it probably wasn't all that interesting, especially compared to being a hunter. Not really much else that I can remember though. I can remember that I was just starting to regularly attend a shooting range. i think I was planning to go into engineering or some sort of design-based industry. I can remember world news, movies, but not much of my actual life, sorry."

"It's alright. You've got something to work towards here now. It'll be alright."

"Yeah, your dad is AWESOME, by the way."

"Yeah, he is."

"I mean, it's a great deal: I get a roof over my head, food, and a small allowance, and in return all I have to do is become a Hunter. Granted becoming a Hunter isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. But still, you have an awesome dad."

"I know."

Eventually we started discussing various weapons and techniques from Remnant, and a few from Earth, although I tried to direct the discussion back to Remnant to avoid talking too much about some of the more… unsavory parts of human history, and nukes. Eventually I'll have to talk to them about stuff like that, but not now.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch8: Training

"Alright Kurt, give me your best shot." Taiyang said, holding Dragon's Breath in a diagonal guard angled towards me.

I drew my swords from their sheathes on my back, holding Pearl in a reverse grip, before charging straight at him. I slashed upwards with Anne, to knock Dragon's Breath away and open him up to a strike from Pearl.

I succeeded in knocking away his sword, only to be kicked back a few yards.

'Well then, that'll leave a mark. Time to change plans.' I think, picking myself up and sheathing my cutlasses.

"Is that it?" Taiyang asks, sounding a little bit disappointed.

"Not even close." I smile, drawing Marxman from its holster on my left hip, aiming at Taiyang's center of mass with the assistance of the ENTIRELY NECESSARY 4x magnification scope I had installed with Ruby's help.

My new strategy consisted of me plinking away at Taiyang with Marxman while bamf-ing in a (barely) successful attempt to stay out of his reach.

That is, until he decided to fire FLAMING BUCKSHOT AT ME.

I may be able to teleport instantly, but that doesn't help against something moving so fast that it hits you before you can even think to teleport.

Fortunately, I had managed to figure out how to tap into my Aura a few days earlier. It stopped the more lethal hits, but I did take a few glancing hits in my upper right arm and lower right leg.

"Well then. Ow." I said, a combination of my Aura and my tendency of ignoring physical pain preventing me from collapsing as I managed to hobble back to the house, using Blue Death in sniper form as a crutch as I was too exhausted to Bamf back.

"Sorry about that, just trying to pin you down, that semblance is annoying to work against." Taiyang said, walking next to me.

One of the first things I did, even before making my weapons, was to at least be able to reliably access my semblance, I'm by no means perfect with it, but I can manage to Bamf reliably. Not accurately, but reliably.

"It's alright. I'm still alive."

"So," He said when I finally got inside and sat down, the buckshot wounds were (mostly) healed, but I was sore all over. That was the sixth training round of the day. "Tell me what happened in that last fight." After every fight, Taiyang and I would discuss what I did right and, more often, what I did wrong.

"I started out pretty well."

"You did."

"But then I didn't have much of a plan after that."  
"No plan survives the first strike."

"And if we have no idea what we're doing, then the enemy certainly can't tell what our plans are."

"You come from a strange culture."

"Commie."

"Alright then." Taiyang has, by now, stopped questioning the random (to him) things that I say.

*Arf!*

"Hey there Zwei, aren't you just the cutest little thing, yes you are." I say in that voice that almost everybody uses when talking to animals and babies.

Taiyang chuckles.

"I've been meaning to ask you, why'd you get such a small, adorable dog? I thought a Hunter like you would've gotten a larger dog." I say, Zwei is now in my lap, being scratched behind the ears.

"Well, he was more for the girls than anything else, and he's got his own secrets."

"Such as?"

"He's fireproof and almost impossibly tough."

"It's like every day this family gets more and more awesome." I chuckle, holding Zwei up in front of my face. 'Isn't he so adorable... aaannd now he's licking my face.'

"You two getting along well?" Yang calls from her room.

"Your dad beat the crap out of me and now your dog's using me as a living pillow."

"So, same as usual."

"Pretty much." 'This is pretty much my home now… not bad, not bad at all.'


	9. Chapter 9

Ch9: Shopping spree…

It's the weekend again and, after a week, Taiyang has decided to give me some money to buy both actual clothing, and combat attire, as well as a mid-level scroll. The girls, on the other hand, have decided to help. 'Murphy save me.' I mentally plead as they drag me to yet another clothing store.

'Mein gott, how many stores will they drag me to. Oooo! I want.' I run over to a rack of cargo pants and pull out ten pairs, all various shades of blue, black or grey and a few being camo patterns in the aforementioned colors.

"Why are you obsessed with cargo pants?" Yang asks, criticizing my GENIUS fashion sense.

"Because they are far superior to any and every other type of lower body garment. Ever. Plus, more room for ammo."

"But isn't that a little much? Your combat clothes already carry enough."

"My dear friend Yang, are you implying that there is such a thing as too much ammunition? There. Is. No. Such. Thing." I say, as if educating a child.

"Yeah, yeah. Just buy the pants, and we'll go and get you a scroll." Yang said, as I paid for the pants and got (yet another) bag to carry.

A few minutes later, we were in a scroll store looking at the options.

"What are those?" I ask, pointing at a rack of seemingly out of place glasses.

"Those are glasses that link to your scroll." A helpful female clerk said, in that voice that says _I'm trying to sell you something_.

I look at the rack for a minute before selecting a pair of sleek, tactical-esque, glasses with minimal black framing and blue transparent lenses.

"Kurt, what are you going to do with those?" Ruby asked.

"I'm gonna make a HUD." I said, picking out a lower-mid grade scroll.

"A what?"

"A Heads Up Display. It gives you information on the battlefield, enemies, your weapons, and teammates."

"You can be such a nerd sometimes Kurt." Yang said, teasing me in an almost sibling-like manner.

"It's how I am Yang, it's how I am."

"Where do you want to go next?" Ruby asks me. 'Decisions, decisions.'

"Have a nice day sir!" Says yet another way too happy salesperson.

"You too." I say, taking my purchases and walking out the door.

"Yang, Ruby, let's bring all this stuff back home. It'll be annoying to lug around town."

"Alright, back to the tunnel then." Yang said, starting back to the dust-tram tunnel that led to Patch.

After we dropped off my various purchases, we headed back into mainland Vale and decided to spend the rest of the day wandering around and looking.

"Ohey! Bookstore! Onwards!" I shout, before slowly walking over to the store with yang and ruby in tow.

I walked inside, Ruby followed me in and Yang just decided to stay outside.

"Yang isn't much of a reading person, is she?" I comment once the door closes.

"Not really, aside from reading things to me when we were kids." Ruby replies.

"We're still kids, you do know that."

"I mean younger kids."

"Welcome to Tuckson's bookstore, home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?" 'Oh, yeah. Tuckson. Poor guy.'

"Sooo, anything on weapons manufacturing, dust usage, or history?" I ask the (Puma?) faunus. "Oh, and mythology." I add, for Ruby.

Tuckson pointed me towards the sections of the store where those books were held. "Thanks pal!" I say cheerfully, heading over to the area where he said he kept weaponry-related books.

"Ruby, mythology's over there. Take a look and pick out two or three." I say, pointing her towards the relevant area, her eyes lit up and she dashed over to take a look.

"So, what's it like running this place?" I ask , catching the owner off-guard.

"It's nice, I've always loved books. so when i decided to make my way in life, I couldn't think of anything better."

"Must be nice. If I weren't training to become a Hunter, I think I'd probably be doing something like this."

"Training to be a Hunter, not something you see most Faunus getting into nowadays."

"How'd you know?" I ask, good-naturedly.

"Your tail." He says, 'Oh, yeah, tail.'

"Not many people spot that I say." My greatcoat was long, but my tail usually hung a centimeter or so below the bottom. Not many people noticed that, surprisingly.

"Well, it takes one to know one."

"I'm definitely coming back sometime. Can't let a fine establishment like this go." I say, collecting my chosen books, along with Ruby's. Tuckson rings up the purchases and i fork over the lien.

"I don't think I ever introduced myself, Kurt Wagner, pleasure doing buisness with you."

"That's quite an odd accent you have. Where're you from?"

"Everyone has their secrets. Can't really say much more than that though."

"I understand."

"Well, see you around Tuckson." I say, carrying a bag of my purchases.

"So, who wants to help me with my symbol?" I ask the girls.

"What?" Yang and Ruby both ask.

"My symbol. You two use flowers, your dad's is some kind of stylized dragon, and I have absolutely no idea what your uncle's is supposed to be." I explain.

"Oh. Finally got an idea of what you're going to make it?" Ruby asks.

"Yep."

"You going to tell us?" Yang questions.

"You'll have to see it for yourselves. It's kind of hard to describe."

"So, back home then?" Ruby asks.

"Yep. Hold on girls, I wanna try something." I say, holding on to their arms.

*BAMF* 'HAHA! I did it! Crap.' *THUD*  
"Owwwww." Ruby said, after we had just fallen about three feet onto the ground in front of their house.

'Well, this seems like a good place to take a nap." I say, 'May have overestimated myself a bit there. Nap time.'

*Snore*

Author's Note: This will be my last chapter until the Fifth. I will be unable to post anything until then. On a better note, I have changed the image for this story, it is now Kurt's symbol. Thanks to all of you who posted reviews, they have been taken into account. See you next week. Do svidanya Comrades! (Note: I am in no way Russian, i just like the sound of it)


	10. Chapter 10

Ch10: Fighty time, fighty time

(Tuesday, D+11)

Patch isn't a very large island. It's just off the coast of Vale, connected to the mainland via a ferry, the occasional airship, and a Dust-tram that uses an underground tunnel. It is home to the Signal combat training academy, and a disproportionately high concentration of retired and current hunters. But despite this Vale has not yet fully claimed and secured the island, which also happens to host a (small) population of (weak) Beowolves. It is this population that I am currently thinning.

I jump up and slash with Anne, decapitating a beowolf. The rest of its pack are quite upset at being left out of course, so I have decided to include them in the fun.

I bamf away, sheathing Anne and pulling Marxman from its holster. 'Pistol sniping time.'

I take aim on a member of the confused pack of Grimm. Boom. Headshot.

My favorite tactic involves a shock-and-awe style initial assault, followed up by a bamf to a nearby location to harass the enemy with ranged firepower.

In other words, I snipe at them with a pistol.

These Beowolves are young and have no armored plating as most Grimm do, making a headshot with a relatively low power cartridge a viable tactic.

*Scroll Ringing*

'Welp then. Time to go home. They're probably wondering where I've been.'

"ONWARDS!" I shout, striking a heroic pose, Pearl (in my right hand) pointing in the general direction of home.

*BAMF* *Yang screams* *THUD*

'Owwwww. Pain. Floor. Face. Pain. Yang. Ow.' I think, having bamf'd face-first into the hardwood floor of the family room. 'Ow.' Right in front of Yang, who had screamed her face off for a second before registering what happened and then laughing hysterically once she realized that I had face planted via teleportation.

"Yeah, keep laughing. What did you want anyway?" I say, picking myself up off of the floor and stowing my weapons.

"Just wanted to know where you went, you've been gone a while."

"Hunting."

"You went on a mission?"

"Sorta. I decided to go out and practice my techniques on a few small packs of Beowolves."

"How many packs?"

"Three. Four if you hadn't interrupted me."

"Cool, how big were the packs?"

"Five, four, six and eight, as I said, not very big packs, just big enough to test out my skills."

"Some days I wonder how sane you are. I'm actually surprised, you've only been training for what, three days?."

"Yep. But I did have some help from two good friends of mine: Shock," I said, holding up a finger, "and Awe." I lifted another finger.

"Huh?" Yang asked, confused.

"How do you not know what shock and awe is? It is THE basis of modern warfare. C'mon." I say, equally confused.

"Ummm. Earth thing?" she asks. 'Time to explain Earth.'

"RUBY! TAIYANG! FAMILY ROOM! STORYTIME!" I bellow, causing yang to flinch and jump back a bit.

A few seconds later, the group is all together, Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang are sitting on a couch, facing me.

"Alright, I think I should explain a few things to you about my home. About Earth." I say, my normally sarcastic/happy/generally amused expression now entirely serious.

(Author's note: I made a single change to Ch1... hint hint. On another note, i have introduced a system of telling time for the sake of both myself and you readers; I will state the day of the week, and the day after the beginning of Ch1 wherever applicable; in the form as follows: [day of week], D+##.)


	11. Chapter 11

Ch11: Serious for once.

"How do you think a world would develop without Grimm. Without Aura or Semblances, without Dust or Faunus?" I ask the trio.

"Probably quite peaceful. No Grimm to fight, no tensions with the Faunus. But relatively lower technology, without Dust to advance technology." Taiyang thinks a few seconds before revealing his analysis.

"Actually, our technology is more advanced in quite a few areas. Granted, Dust does wonderful things, but without it we've managed to make it pretty far. We've even made it off our planet, we put people on our moon. THE MOON, for Murphy's sake! And that was decades before I was even born!" I say, earning looks of stunned disbelief from the trio.

"Really?"

"Please leave all questions till the end please. As I was saying, the current human population of Earth is somewhere between seven and eight billion. And we haven't even settled parts of it! We've put men on the moon, we've managed to land robots on other planets, we have sent unmanned probes to the stars! And yet," My voice drops from its proud proclamations to a more saddened and depressed tone, "Let's just say when you have that many people, hell, even a fraction of that many people. They have different views, and they don't always match up. Can you imagine it? In the space of not even forty years, over one hundred million, far over one hundred million. Hell, three men managed to break one-thirty, and even half a damn century later, we still have no exact count. Over one hundred fifty million living, breathing human beings. All reduced to a mere statistic in not even forty years. Not through disaster, or disease, or famine. But through war and hate. Most of those people were killed by their own leaders, the people who were supposed to protect them from the evils of the world. And that's not even the tip of the damn iceberg, war is as much a part of our history as the Grimm are yours. And it gets even worse! We've managed to create MULTIPLE weapons capable of wiping out every last thing on our little ball of dirt. All of them. We've managed to harness the power of atoms themselves, and we turned it into a weapon. It's a rare day where the news channels aren't talking about some tragedy or another. Usually, it's some variation of one person killing another. If you think the Grimm are monsters, you have no idea what a monster even is. Hell, if you put the entire military, scientific, and industrial might of my world on Remnant, the Grimm wouldn't even stand a ghost of a chance. I will admit that a soulless being intent on killing you for the hell of it is nothing to be scoffed at, but the truly terrifying thing is a human being that does the exact same thing for almost no discernible reason. Individual people caused the deaths of enough people to eclipse the number of those alive on Remnant today. Hell, they probably killed more people than have EVER existed on Remnant. My world is far from peaceful. But, in spite of that, or probably because of it, humanity is able to shine in the dark. It is possible for someone to feed someone on the other side of the world. Men and women are willing to fight and die to protect people they will never know. That is what Earth is like. A world of simultaneously greater and lesser peace than anyone in Remnant will ever know." I finish my monologue, to take in the faces of the trio before me: Ruby is horrified, Yang slightly less so, but Taiyang is giving me a strange look. As if he's seen that, no matter how bad things may seem on Remnant, it could be worse.

"You make it sound so horrible." Taiyang says.

"I may have exaggerated a bit. I usually tend towards the melodramatic."

"Still, it doesn't sound like a nice place to be."

"And you think a planet full of evil soulless beasts IS?"

"Point taken."

"The thing is, I admit that terrible things have happened, we actually have designated things as being crimes against humanity itself! But the past is the past; you can't change it, and trying to change it would cause even more problems. You just have to learn to live with the horrible things that have happened. You live with them, and do everything you can to make sure that they never happen again. Instead of trying to make up for injustices admit that they happened, if the perpetrators are still alive then punish them, and most importantly: make sure it never happens again." I monologue, "And with that out of the way: I just got back from clearing out a few packs of beowolves and will now proceed to take a nap. Chat amongst yourselves, see you tomorrow." I say, before walking to my room and promptly falling asleep.

(AN: Kurt considers all forms of racism/discrimination to be utterly useless, unproductive, and plain wrong. He is less of a 'don't do it because it's wrong' and more of a 'don't do it because it's pointless and unproductive' kind of person.)

(Thursday, D+14)

"Whatcha working on Kurt?" Ruby asks, while I fiddle with some parts, my scroll, and the glasses that I had picked up earlier.

"Trying to set something up with my HUD." I say, picking up my HUD. "I'm trying to figure out how to set this up to tell me how many rounds are left in a mag." I say, pointing towards one of my 30 round magazines. "I've already set up a laser designation system, and a positioning system, but I'm trying to figure out something that can be used without modifying every single mag."

"How about placing a sensor on the gun itself, maybe near the barrel, to record the number of shots fired?" She recommends.

"Didn't think of that, it should work." I say, grabbing Blue Death from it's place next to my desk, at which I am currently working. I pick up a sensor, 'Nope, not that one, or that one, how many of these things do I have? There it is!' I think, rifling through the small pile of sensors I have in one corner of my work space. 'That goes there, this hooks up here, that goes over there.' I attach the body of the sensor near the muzzle of the weapon, just forward of the bayonet/bipod attachment clip. I place a pair of smaller sensors, above and below the muzzle itself, a pair of sensors which, when linked to the main piece, would (hopefully) record the passage of a bullet between the two secondary pieces.

(About two hours later)

"Finally." I say, exasperated, after two hours of trying to link the sensor, my scroll, and my HUD and turn it into a workable system. 'tried sleeeepp.' *thunk* 'Ow. Pain. Head. Sleep.' *Snores*


	12. Chapter 12

Ch12: A day in town

(Saturday, D+23)

Yang and Ruby were busy with schoolwork and studying, so I decided to spend the day in Vale.

Most of the day had been spent wandering around the city and visiting various shops, not really buying anything, but just trying to get a feel for the culture and the world itself. And (figuratively) drooling over the massive range of weapons and ammunition available to the general public.

Currently I was walking towards Tuckson's store; I had a new project in mind and wanted information on Dust.

"Hey! You! Freak!" I hear, as a large man jumps out in front of me, interrupting my thoughts on my new project. "Gimme your money!" He says threateningly, brandishing a large knife.

'Are you mugging me?" I ask innocently, 'Time for fun, comrade.'

"Of course I am you stupid animal! Now gimme your money!" He says, irritated by my nonchalance.

"There is one thing you should know, comrade." I say, using a VERY bad Russian accent, "In Soviet Russia," *BAMF* "I mug YOU!" I shout, bamf-ing behind him and drawing Marxman, flicking off the safety. "Now run along and I won't call the cops." I say, my voice suddenly quite commanding.

"A-alright man, please don't kill me man, I got a family!" The man stutters, afraid for his life.

"So does everyone else. Remember that. Now leave before I change my mind." I order the man.

He does the smart thing and runs, knocking over a few of the stunned civilians who had gathered nearby.

I dramatically holster the pistol after flicking off the safety, returning Marxman to it's place on my hip.

"Move along, nothing to see here." I say, moving on towards the book store.

"That took courage, not many of our brothers and sisters tend to stand up for themselves." A man says from next to me.'Waitaminute.' I think, 'I know that voice from somewhere.'

I look to my left to see, 'Well then.' A bull faunus in a black suit with red accents.

"It doesn't take much courage to bamf behind a guy and draw a gun. You just have to stay calm and analyze the situation. Plus, he brought a knife to a gunfight. that doesn't usually work out well." I say.

"But you stood up for yourself. That's what matters. show them we're not just spineless animals. Where are you headed to?" He asked. 'Alert! Alert! Paranoia senses tingling!'.

"Who wants to know?" I ask, bemusedly.

"Adam Taurus."

"And Blake Belladonna." someone says from right behind me.

"ACH!" *BAMF* I shouted out in surprise and bamf'd about three yards behind where I was.

"Nice job Blake, you scared off a potential recruit. Again." Adam said jokingly, although with a hint of irritation.

"What do you mean 'recruit'?" I ask from about five feet behind them.

They both whirl around, with the speed of those whose reflexes have been honed by combat.

"Nothing." Adam says. ' :I '

"Alright then." I say, before whipping out Anne, striking a dramatic pose with Anne pointed towards Tuckson's, "ONWARDS!" *BAMF*  
"Where'd you come from?" Tuckson asks, surprisingly calm about my entrance to his shop.

"I can teleport."

"Alright then, anything you need?"

"Anything on Dust manipulation or explosives?" I ask.

Tuckson lists off a few titles and points me towards them.

I put on earbuds, take out my scroll and select one of my favorite authors.

*Cue _Piano Man_ by Billy Joel*

"So sing us a song you're the piano man." I sing along under my breath, inspecting a book detailing the combat uses of Dust.

A few minutes later, still humming along to the music of Billy Joel and skimming a book on explosives, I barely made out the ringing of the bell above the door to the shop. I turned my head to see who it was entering the store.

'And theeeeyyy'rreee heeeerrrreee.' Blake and Adam walk in, chatting away about some topic or other. 'And now they've seen me.'

"Why hello there. Long time no see, eh?" I say after about a second.

"You know each other?" Tuckson asks, slightly confused.

"As of a few minutes ago." I say, leaving my earbuds in but turning off the music.

"We saw him fight off a mugger." Blake expanded.

"Are you alright?" Tuckson asks, slightly concerned.

"It wasn't much. Nobody got hurt." I said.

"Still, good job Kurt."

"So that's your name." Adam mused.

"Kurt Wagner, at your service." I said, bowing while removing my hat.

"A gentleman." Blake said.

"Not even close." I chuckle.

"So, what are you reading?" Blake asks.

"Book on the topic of explosives, utilizing dust and non-Dust substances." I say, coming across something familiar. 'When in doubt.'

"Why? Planning on building a bomb?" Adam asks, entirely serious.

"In a sense." I say, closing the book and picking up a couple of others I think will be helpful in creating a wonderful, wonderful… thing.

"So, Kurt, what are your opinions on the White Fang?" Adam asks me. 'Suspicious much?'

"Quite frankly, I can sympathize with the anger, the goal of ending Faunus discrimination is a noble one, but I can neither condone nor support their means for achieving those goals. All terrorism does is kill people." I say, as if I had no idea that literally every other person in the room was, by my definition, a terrorist.

"And here's the money." I tell Tuckson, grabbing my purchases and walking out, leaving no room for further conversation.

I walk a block or so before noticing a slight tingling sensation in my palms. 'That's never happened before.' I walked a bit further, before putting my HUD glasses on, having recently modified them with micro-cams designed to give me a view of what is behind me. 'Hello there. Seems a little kitty's decided to hunt.' I proceeded normally until I reached an intersection, before turning the corner and going flat against the wall. The sun was low in the sky and shadows were beginning to creep across the ground.

I did my best to use the slight shadows as concealment, aided by my usual black and darker-blue clothes.

As Blake walked past the corner, I took no small amount of pleasure at the look of surprise on her face when she saw me leaning casually on a wall.

"Fancy meeting you again." I say, twirling the C-100 in my left hand.

"Oh." Is all she manages.

"Why were you following me?" I ask, more bored and tired than angry.

"Adam wanted to know where you were going. To make sure you weren't a threat. You left in a hurry."

"I'm going home. Big hint, by the way, whenever a guy that can teleport is deciding to WALK somewhere after a conversation with three... dangerous individuals, DON'T follow him." I say, ostentatiously sheathing the C-100 while emphasizing Marxman. *BAMF*

"Hey, Ruby, how'd your day go?"


	13. Chapter 13

Ch13: Pineapples

(Wednesday, M+1, D+18)

(AN: I've decided to use an Earth-like calendar, with the same setup but not necessarily using Earth months unless that system is canon. But with regards to an Earth calendar, Kurt arrived on Remnant Friday, September 1st.)

After a few hours 'borrowing' part of Signal's forges, my new projects were finished.

*Happy whistling*

I gather my three new creations, three of each. 'Time for field testing.' *BAMF* I bamf home.

"Hey there Zwei, how are you? Little lonely, huh? Sorry, I'm not here to play with you. But everyone else should be getting out of class soon." I say, scratching him behind the ears before dropping off two of each of my inventions and picking up Blue Death, along with extra ammo.

I bamf to the Eversnow Forest, an area that is somehow eternally winter. I don't know why and I honestly don't care. I'm here because I want to test out some high-explosive treats on beowolves.

'Ohey. Time for fun.' I spot a small pack of beowolves, ten-ish total.

"FRAG OUT!" I shout, lobbing a roughly fist-shaped green object slightly smaller than a soda can into the middle of the pack.

*BANG* The grenade detonates, sending shrapnel scything through the pack, finishing off what the overpressure wave hadn't pulped. Technically it was a fragmentation grenade with a larger than normal explosive payload, thanks to use of Blast Dust, a combination of Burn Dust and Earth Dust, along with a few other substances added for stabilization and increased explosive potential.

"Killionaire." I say, searching out another pack. Soon after, I find one, about the same size as the last.

"Let's try another one." I mutter, tossing another object of similar size, but colored blue.

*KRACK* with a crunching-crackling noise, everything in a roughly three-yard circle froze solid and was covered in a jagged layer of ice at least an inch or two thick.

A smile spread across my face and I used the frozen Beowolves as target practice. Surprisingly enough, although it really shouldn't have been, the Bewolves were fully alive and conscious. Were.

'Next problem: how do I set up the next one?' I think, setting up my next surprise just inside the entrance to a nearby cave, facing towards the entrance.

And then I did what was probably the dumbest thing I had ever done up to that point.

I found the biggest pack of beowolves I could. And I pissed them off. And then I ran. Fast.

"SONUVABBIIIITTTTTCCCHHHHHH!" I shout, running as fast as I can (mostly thanks to mortal terror) to reach the cave, while trying not to either outrun or be eaten by the pack following me. 'There's the cave. Just a bit further. Now.' *BAMF* "HEY! COME AND GET ME!" I shout at the Beowolves from within the safety of the cave. I watch them charge the cave. Trying not to be utterly terrified. 'Three… Two… One... ' *Click* I press the wireless detonator in my hand. *BANG* With an almost underwhelming noise, the claymore landmine I placed near the entrance shreds pretty much all of the Beowolves with a hail of steel balls. I finish off the stragglers which had the dubious luck of being outside of the killzone. *BAMF* "I'm back!" I call out, grabbing my cleaning kit and a mat.

"Where were you?" Yang asks, walking into my room.

"In the forge at Signal, then in the Eversnow Forest. You people REALLY need to work on your naming conventions by the way." I say, whistling as I strip Blue Death and clean it.

"What were you doing in the forest?" She asked.

"Testing what I made in the forge."

"What did you make in the forge?"

"Things that go boom."

"You made explosives in a school forge?"

"Yes."

"And you're keeping them in your room."

"In a metal box designed to resist explosives, and yes."

"Alright." She paused. "What kind of explosives?"

"Two types of hand grenade and anti-infantry landmines."

"Meaning?"  
"A thrown explosive and a placed explosive designed to turn anything with light or no armor into dead."

"Why?"

"There are few problems that cannot be solved with explosives." I say happily, reassembling Blue Death. "This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine."

Yang looks at me weirdly for a second before ignoring my last words, still getting used to the things I say from Earth. "Dad wants us in the family room, by the way." She says.

"Just a sec." I say, checking Blue Death to make sure everything is working how it should. "Let's go then." I smile, walking out with Yang in tow.

Taiyang and Ruby are sitting on a couch in the family room. Taiyang is wearing his usual expression of relaxed happiness. Ruby, on the other hand, is as hyped up as a squirrel on drugs. Even more than usual, if that's actually possible.

"Yang, Kurt, sit down. I have some very important news for you." Taiyang says.

I sit down on the couch next to Yang, who is sitting next to Ruby.

"I've been thinking this past week." Taoyang says, "About you, Kurt. You've been staying with us for a month." 'Bad feeling. Baaad feeling.' "You've almost come to be a part of the family, wouldn't you say?"

"This place is pretty much home to me." I say, getting a vague idea of where this was going.

"Since you don't have one of your own, and since I don't think you'll be leaving anytime soon; I've decided to make you an official part of this family, Kurt Xiao Long Wagner."

"Thanks dad." I say, as Ruby and Yang squeal in happiness.

A second later I notice Ruby standing up, before she tackle-hugs me.

"Welcome to the family, Kurt." She says, every part the adorable child.

"Best. Family. Ever." I say,chuckling, "Of all time."


	14. Chapter 14

Ch14: A good deal of time later.

(Fri, M+8, D+23)

"Hmm." I'm standing in a Dust shop in the commercial district, reading the descriptions of the various types of powdered Dust in stock. 'Nope. Nope. Nope. Maybe. Definitely not. That gives me an idea." I think, reading the description of one. 'Silent Dust: This type of Dust possesses extraordinary noise reduction capabilities. I don't care how, but that'd do nice with Blue Death.' I think, an idea forming as to how to integrate the Dust into my rifle.

"It is surprisingly easy to find Dust shops open at this time of night. Seriously, do you people have any life outside these things?" I hear someone ask the shop owner. 'Warning. Warning. Danger.'

"Get the Dust." I hear him order some thugs.'Shitshitshit. Robbery.' I think, slowly turning to face the front of the store. 'Torchwick. Great.' I think, drawing Pearl from a sheath on my left hip and Marxman from a holster integrated into the sheath. I had taken to carrying at least one sword at all times in the city due to a previous encounter with a group of very determined muggers.

"Hey there kid! Would you mind putting those away, someone could get hurt." Torchwick jests, finally noticing me.

"Isn't that the point?" I ask, raising Marxman and placing a round directly into a thug's leg, causing him to collapse to the ground, writhing in pain.

*Bamf* "Let's take this outside." I say to Torchwick, having bamf'd right in front of him. I kick him in the chest and as I make contact, *Bamf* and both of us are outside.

I follow through with my kick, forcing him back a few steps and putting him off-balance.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laugh maniacally, staring straight at Torchwick while asserting my insanity. "This. Will. Be. FUN!" I continue, holstering Marxman and drawing the C-100.

"Ummm. Alright then kid, no need to get all hyped up."

I then proceed to use the most subtle tactic in my book; charging straight at him, screaming like a madman.

His response was, as one would expect, to stare dumbly for a second, then step to the side, in an attempt to clothesline me with his cane. 'Sucker.' *BAMF* *THUD* I bamf right before actually hitting the cane, reappearing behind Torchwick an almost indefinable amount of time later, conserving my momentum and full-on tackling him.

I stand up, dust myself off and then proceed to to beat the living crap out of the thugs: men dressed in white suits with blue sunglasses and blue shirts/trim. None of whom appeared to have taken more than one lesson in how to use the axes that they were all equipped with. Even taking care not to cause mortal wounds, it was surprisingly easy. Torchwick got up, and then proceeded to flee in what can only be described as mortal terror while I, in order to further reinforce my appearance of insanity, laughed maniacally.

Once the police arrived, I handed off the thugs to them, I was asked to give a statement about what had happened (saying that Torchwick got away while I was subduing the thugs), and then they let me leave. Apparently aspiring hunters/huntresses beating the living daylights out of criminals is in no way unusual. 'Nice.'

"So, how much for a canister of Silent Dust?" I ask the owner of the store, a relatively young man with orange hair.

"You just saved my store from being robbed, it's on the house."

"I can't just take something without paying you."

"Dad! I heard the police report! Are you okay!?" I hear a girl yell from behind me, her voice full of worry.

"It's alright Nora, this kind man over here," The shopkeeper indicated me as I turn to face my favorite soon-to-be-member of team JNPR, "Scared them off." Mr. Valkyrie said.

"I did a bit more than scare them." I say with a smirk, holding aside my greatcoat to reveal Marxman and Pearl in their sheath/holster. "They didn't put up much of a fight though. Shame, really." I say with a disappointed tone, letting go of my greatcoat.

"Nice!" Nora says, "Oh, I'm Nora Valkyrie, and that's my dad."

"Kurt Wagner, at your service." I say with a bow and a flourish of my hat.

A boy dressed in green with a pink streak in his hair stumbled into the shop, evidently exhausted. Most likely due to following Nora.

"There you are slow-poke!" Nora chided her friend. "Kurt, this is Ren." Nora said, introducing me to her best friend.

"Nora." Ren breathed in, "Please don't ever do that again." He said, just starting to breathe normally.

"How far did you run?" I asked, a smirk on my face.

"Commercial district, near the waterfront." he answered.

"That's on the other side of the city." I say, impressed. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks." Ren said.

"So, Mr. Valkyrie, how much for the Dust?" I ask, getting back to the topic at hand.

"I told you, I'll give it to you for free."

"And I told you that I cannot accept it for free. I was just doing my duty as a huntsman in training."

"You're training to be a huntsman! So are we!" Nora said excitedly.

"Sweet." I say.

"I've got an idea dad! In return for the Dust, he trains with us!" Nora said, having come up with a solution.

"I don't have any problem with that." Mr. Valkyrie said, looking at me.

"Neither do I." I say, 'sweet', "Deal?" I ask, reaching my hand out to the shopkeeper.

"Deal." He says, shaking it.

"So." I say, turning to Nora, "When and where? I'm open anytime."

"Be at Torch tomorrow by eleven A.M." She says.

"Torch?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"It's a training academy in the residential district, near Forever Fall." Ren clarifies.

"Thanks! Gotta go, family's probably worrying about how late it is." I say, looking at the watch on my left wrist. "See ya!" I call out, picking up the canister of Dust and walking out. Once I'd gotten a decent distance away from the shop (about halfway to the coast) I bamf'd back home.

"I'm back! And do I have a story to tell!"


	15. Chapter 15

Ch15: FIGHT!

(Saturday, M+8, D+24)

"Where're you going, Kurt?" Taiyang asks me, as I walk to the door, my battle gear in a duffel bag.

"To meet a couple of friends at Torch."

"Try to be back before dinner today."

"Alright dad. See ya!" I say, walking outside, heading towards the mainland.

*Bamf* I teleport to a park near Tuckson's shop, the place I normally teleport to as it is usually clear of people.

I walk towards the adress I had gotten for Torch academy, a rather unassuming complex of buildings.

"Hey! Kurt! You're late!" Nora yells, running over to me from near the gate to the academy grounds.

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. he arrives precisely when he means to." I say seriously before cracking a smile. "After all, it's only 11:02."

"C'mon slowpoke. We've got a match to fight!" She says excitedly. "The whole academy's waiting."

"You never told me that there'd be an audience." I chuckle. "And where's Ren?"

"Behind you." I hear.

"ACH!" I shout, whirling around to see Ren, a smirk barely detectable on his face. "Please never do that again." I say, a bit annoyed at being snuck up on.

"Sheesh, Kurt. Lighten up." Nora giggles.

"I don't like people sneaking up on me. People don't sneak up on me. I sneak up on them." I say, twirling the C-100 in my fingers.

"Is that a bipod?" Nora asks.

"On a knife?" Ren continues.

"Indeed it is. It'll make sense soon. Probably." I reply, chuckling.

"Ren, show Kurt where the boy's locker room is. He'll get ready there."

"So, who am I going up against. I hope it's just one of you." I say, smirking. "You two look like you work well together."

"We're not together...t-together." Nora says abashedly, blushing a bit.

"Follow me Kurt, the locker room's this way." Ren says, leading me.

"See ya on the other side."I say, waving.

Minutes later, I was standing in the entryway to Torch's main arena, checking my weapons. I ran Blue Death through its different forms, settling on AR mode, before inserting a clip into the stock and pulling back the charging handle. I pulled Marxman from its holster and racked back the slide, and then replaced it. Next I snapped the C-100 to the bayonet clip. I pulled my HUD from its pocket in my greatcoat, put it on, and activated it. 'All geared up now.'

"And up against our home champion is Kurt Wagner." A teacher announces, quite loudly.

As I walk onto the field, I flick off Blue Death's safety, onto the full auto setting.

I spot my foe across the floor, Nora is holding Magnhild in grenade launcher form.

"Three… Two… One… FIGHT!" The teacher says, a bell sounding twice.

Nora fires a barrage of three grenades at me and then launches herself on the same trajectory.

I quickly bring up Blue Death and fire at the grenades, destroying all three and giving me time.

'Have to time this right.' I think , slipping a small black cylinder marked with a large white asterisk from my web gear.

I pull a pin on the top of the cylinder before dropping the cylinder itself.

'Three...' *Bamf* I appear on the opposite side of the arena, facing away from my opponent. 'Two...' I close my eyes, open my mouth, and place my hands over my ears. 'One...' * **BANG!*** A blinding flash and deafening noise erupt, temporarily disorienting me. When I open my eyes and shake my head a few times, I turn around to see Nora on the ground, blindly searching around with her hands for Magnhild. I calmly walk over to her, pick the weapon up, walk to the boundary of the arena, and tossed the weapon out of bounds.

"Kurt Wagner wins." Even the announcer sounded surprised.

I walk over to Nora and helped her up.

"Sorry about that. It's designed to be a non-lethal stun weapon. I call it a flash-bang." I say, helping her up.

*THWACK* 'Ow. Pain. Ow.' "Yeah, I probably deserved that." I say, doubling over in pain after being punched in the gut.

"Yep! You did!' Nora said cheerfully.

"Best two out of three?" I propose.

"No more of those flash-bang things?"

"I don't have very many, that was just a test-run."

"So no."

"I won't use them. Or any other explosive goodies."

"You have more!?"

In response I just smiled cheekily.

"You ready?" I ask.

A few moments later, we were in our respective positions. The students watching were cheering and yelling encouragement for the competitor they thought would win they thought would win. A few were yelling various derogatory words about my appearance. Or, more specifically, my tail.

"Round Two: Three… Two… One… FIGHT!"

I sprang into action, dodging left and right as I charged Nora, Blue Death spewing bullets, shouting for effect. *click* 'Empty.'

"BANZAIIIIIIIIII!" I shouted, bayonet held unwaveringly towards Nora who, to her credit, decides to meet my charge, presumably attempting to smash me with her hammer. Just as she starts her swing. *Bamf*

And I am now behind her. I bash her on the back of the head with the stock of my rifle. It. Does. Nothing. 'Shiẞe.' *THWACK!* 'PAIN!'

I slowly manage to pick myself up. When I finally get my wits about myself, I realize that I've just been thrown across, and out of, the arena. 'Note to self: ALWAYS stay out of the effective range of a hammer. Even when behind the opponent. They can and will continue the swing.

I turn to Nora, bow, and then walk to my place opposite her.

"What about your gun?" She asks, looking at Blue Death, which was where I had dropped it when I got hit.

"I'll pick it up later." I say, drawing Marxman from its holster. 'Time to get mobile.'

"Are you sure you're alright to continue? You were hit pretty hard."

A few moments later, once Nora had returned to her place, the announcer repeated his usual speech.

I line up Marxman's scope and proceed to fire six rounds as fast as I can at Nora, which take down maybe a quarter of her aura, according to the display screen that I have decided to pay attention for once. 'Thank you high-power rounds.' Marxman is loaded with .45 caliber rounds designed to maximize force and impart all of their power into one target, reducing the chance of ricochets.

She fires a spread of four grenades at me, which I decide to dodge by charging forwards, towards her, Marxman now safely at my hip, my greatcoat billowing as I charge. She prepares to swing, winding up to smash me into the ground. *Bamf* I disappear in my usual puff of purple-black smoke.

She whirls around to smash the hammer into the ground behind her, in an attempt to catch me. But I'm not there. Instead, I burst out of the smoke in front of her, having teleported maybe an inch ahead in an attempt to throw her off. I draw Anne and Pearl from their sheathes on my back, hidden by my greatcoat, hitting her in the back with an aura-infused pommel strike from Anne. It knocks her down into the yellow zone; maybe a third of her aura bar left. The red zone is just under one-sixth.

I bamf back to the other side of the field, sheathing my cutlasses, drawing Marxman and performing a quick reload.

I bring Marxman up, center the sights on a (charging) Nora, and fire two rounds. Both impact, bringing her to the edge of the yellow zone. 'Just a bit more.' I think, just as Nora launches herself at me, assisted by a blast from Magnhild's hammer form.

I track her with Marxman, trying to lead her a bit.

She's almost on top of me when I manage to snap off a shot, but just as I pull the trigger, I hear Magnhild fire, before a sharp pain makes itself known in my side and I fly into the arena wall.

When I come to, I can make out the display screen. I see that both aura bars are red, with the word DRAW superimposed over the images of Nora and myself.

"And it appears that the results of the match are a draw!" The loud teacher announces.

I groan and stand up, bamf-ing around the field to collect Marxman, which I holster, and Blue Death, which I slung over my shoulder.

"Dosvidaniya comrades!" I shout, tossing a two-fingered salute to Nora, before walking out of the arena, whistling a nameless tune.

(AN: Kurt's fighting style relies heavily on remaining mobile, ranged combat, and hit-and-run style tactics. If he wants to kill someone quickly, he can. )


	16. Chapter 16

Ch16: And so we meet again.

(Tuesday, M+8, D+27)

It's about ten at night, the sun has set and it makes no difference to me.

'Built-in NV for the win!' I think, quite happy about near perfect Night Vision.

I walk on further, heading towards the channel separating Vale and Patch. I'm just getting back from a training session with Nora and Ren. Nora is more difficult to fight without resorting to cheesy tactics due to the fact that hammer usually beats swords. Ren, on the other hand, was a wholly different challenge; his style was more focused on agility and he used two machine pistols with blades mounted to them. Those, I can fight against.

*CRASH* My faunus hearing picks up the shattering of a pane of glass nearby, I quickly turn to the source and see a few men breaking into a shop nearby. Led by a man in a white trenchcoat. 'Well then. Time to have fun.'

I pull Blue Death in storage form from my duffel, extend it to its sniper form, clip the C-100 under the barrel, flip down the bipod, and clip a silencer to the muzzle. Thanks to metal infused with Silent Dust, the weapon is now silenced to movie-levels. I go prone and sight in on a thug.

*clack* A sharp yet quiet noise marks the crippling of a man.

A round blows through his knee, dropping him to the ground in a scream of pain. I sight the next target and pull out my scroll.

"This is the Vale Police Department, is there an emergency?" A young-sounding woman answers the call.

"Yes, I'm reporting an attempted robbery in progress. On Ice lane. It'll be hard to miss"

"Attempted?"

"I'm training to become a hunter. There are eleven of them. Most down with rifle wounds in their legs. I'm reloading now. Is that? It's a bullhead. One of them, a man in a white trenchcoat with a black bowler hat, is getting on to the bullhead and getting away. Not much I can do there m'am, sorry. I'll go make sure the guys I took down don't bleed out. may want to send in some ambulances."

"Well then sir. We'll be sending a few squad cars and ambulances your way soon. We may need to bring you in for questioning though."

"Fair enough. Have a nice day miss." I say, closing the scroll while walking over to the ten thugs with a roll of duct-tape and a roll of bandages. 'This is gonna be annoying.' I think, duct-taping their wrists and ankles together.

(An hour later, VPD interrogation room)

"Yes dad. I'll be home as soon as I can, they're just asking me some questions. Having a hunter as an adoptive father really helped smooth a few things out,by the way." I say, talking to dad on my scroll, standing alone in the interrogation room. I was talking to Dad, Yang and Ruby to pass the time while the VPD sorted something out. There was a noise at the door and it opened.

"Someone's here dad, I'll be back when it's over. Bye." I say, closing my scroll and slipping it into one of my pants pockets.

A man bespectacled wearing a black jacket, with a green scarf and grey hair. 'Ozpin. I may very well be going to Beacon.' Followed by a woman with blond hair, white and black clothing and a purple cape that appeared to be purposefully tattered at the bottom. 'And there's the Witch.'

"Kurt Xiao-Long Wagner." Ozpin said, walking in and sitting in the chair nearest the door, Glynda standing next to and slightly behind him, "Do you know who I am?"

"It's pronounced VAG-ner not WAG-ner," I say, sitting down in the chair opposite Ozpin, "And yes, you are Professor Ozpin, headmaster of the prestigious Beacon Academy."

"I have seen the videos of your previous… encounters with this group." Ozpin said, bringing up a few videos on his tablet. Ones that stared me. "You have shown an unusual level of skill for someone who does not attend a combat school. or any school, as far as I can tell." Ozpin said, a slight air of suspicion hanging about him.

"I suppose I have." I agree, a slight smirk on my face, revealing nothing.

"I suppose you wouldn't care to elaborate?" Ozpin asks, bemused.

"Only if you would. I do not care much for being left in the dark." I say, "Metaphorically, at least."

"Well then. I am here to asses you as a candidate for Beacon Academy."

"It's nice to know I've popped up on your radar. I've wanted to be a hunter for as long as I remember."

"The thing is, Mr. Vag-ner, you seem to have popped into existence not even a year ago. Seven months ago, actually."

"And what do you want me to tell you, exactly?" I say, getting a bit tired of beating around the bush.

"I want to know who you are."

"My name is Kurt Xiao Long Wagner. I am a Faunus. I am an amnesiac. I remember very little from my life before this. Mr Xiao Long's daughter Ruby found me wandering around in the Eversnow Forest and they took me in. A month and a half later, they adopted me."

"I see. So, what exactly do you mean by very little?"

"I mean I only remember random facts and skills that I've picked up somehow, nothing relating to my family or friends, or anyone I knew."

"Quite interesting. If you really are an amnesiac as you say, how come we cannot find any faunus of your description in our records?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"I suppose that answers that. Mr. Wagner, I have seen your fighting style. It is quite… unconventional."

"I try. The problem with most of the hunters and weapons I see is that they're not taking advantage of mobility or range enough. Admittedly, though, I do have almost unlimited mobility. And a gun. Or two. And a knife. And a pair of swords. And more." I list smiling.

"Well then. Mr Wagner, what do you think of the White Fang?"

"Anywhere from misguided to full-on psycho. Depends on the person. As it always does."

"I will be keeping an eye out for your application to Beacon." He says, standing up to leave.

"Is the interrogation over Oz?" I jest, my feet up on the table.

"I suppose it is."

"Do svidaniya comrade!" I say, hopping up. *Bamf*

"HEY DAD! I'M BACK!" I shout, walking to my room to clean my weapons.


	17. Chapter 17

Ch17: The day we've waited for.

(Saturday, Y+1, M+0, D+0)

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KURT!" Yang and Ruby yell.

I grumble/yawn and sit up, stretch and see Yang and Ruby right next to me.

"Ehhh. Vhat?" I say, my German accent showing more than usual.

"Happy birthday!" Ruby and Yang repeat, much more quietly than the last time. i respond by staring at them questioningly.

"Since you didn't remember when your actual birthday was, Dad decided to make the day I found you your birthday." Ruby explained, extremely happy.

"Oh yeah." I say, remembering that today is my 17th birthday.

"C'mon, we've got presents for you." ruby said, before grabbing my arm and dragging me to the family room.

"Happy birthday Kurt." Dad said, gesturing to the four boxes stacked on the coffee table.

"Danke!" I say, walking over to and sitting down on the couch in front of the table.

I pick up one package and tear off the wrapping paper, finding a large, metal box of .30-06 ammunition.

"300 rounds of thirty ought six AP ammo. Sweet." I say. 'No such thing as too much ammo.'

"Thought you'd like it." Taiyang said, chuckling a bit.

"Open this one next!" Ruby said, pushing a present over.

"Alright Ruby, just a sec." I say, picking it up and slowly picking at the tape holding the paper on. "Hmm. I wonder what it could be?" I question rhetorically, still moving slowly.

"Open it." Ruby pouted. 'No! Not the puppy dog eyes! Anything but the puppy dog eyes!'

"Alright." I say, pulling off the paper to find… 'Well, wasn't expecting that to show up.'

"Are you alright Kurt?" Ruby asks after a minute of me staring at the contents of the package, slightly confused and a bit sad that I may not like her present.

"What… How… Where did you get these?" I ask, holding up one of the books, titled _For The Emperor!_ , the cover picture showing a man nonchalantly holding both a banner and an oversize pistol.

"I got them at the bookstore. Tuckson's." She said. "Do you not like them?" she asked, starting to tear up.

"No, actually. I love these books. I remember them from home actually. Of all the things that could have been the same from Earth, Warhammer and Ciaphas Cain are probably the least likely things I would have thought of. Seriously. I can tell that the universe is messing with me even more than it usually does."

"Soo you… Like it?"

"Oh, definitely. It's just REALLY weird. As in ludicrously weird. The odds of these being here are so small as to be almost zero. I'm not complaining. but I'm confused." I ramble on. "Why'd you pick these out, by the way?" I ask Ruby.

"The cover has a guy with a large gun and what looks like a chainsaw-sword. I had a hard time thinking of anything you'd like more." She said, smiling.

"Your logic is entirely correct. On every level. Ever." I say entirely seriously while internally freaking out about the piece of Earth that the universe had thrown my way.

"Soo." Yang said, pushing another present my way. "I guess I'm next."

I open the present, to find a set of portable speakers. "I like it." I say, glad that one of the first things I had done upon getting a scroll was to find a way to transfer my music to it. It took a month or so but I'd managed to do it, thanks to the fact that Remnant's version of wireless was compatible with my Iphone.

"So, there are three of you and four presents. Did Zwei decide to get me something?" I ask, looking at the corgi in question, who hopped up onto the couch and used my leg as a pillow.

"Yep." Dad said, smirking.

I open the present to find a nondescript cardboard box. I open that to find another, slightly smaller box. And another. And another. And another.A few boxes later, I finally arrive at what I hope is the final box. I open it to find two small pieces of metal connected by a length of ball-chain.

"The dog got me dog-tags." I say, scratching Zwei behind the ears, much to his delight. "Wagner, Kurt X. Y., 634-41-8567, A Pos., Murphyist." I say, reading the lines stamped into the metal.

"So. What do you want to do for your birthday?" Dad asks. My response is an evil smile.

"Laser tag." I say, standing in front of the building, a large warehouse-like structure painted dark green with stylized scorch-marks added for style points.

"You sure Kurt?" Dad asks.

"Yes." I say,the same evil smile still plastered on my face.

About fifteen minutes later we were standing in the laser tag place's armory, yet another reason Remnant is, in certain ways, much cooler than Earth. '*Angelic choir*' "I'll take THAT one." I say, pointing.

I grabbed my weapon of choice, Dad grabbed an assault rifle, Ruby grabbed a DMR on my recommendation, and Yang grabbed a shotgun. Next we grabbed the safety gear; helmets and vests liberally studded with sensors to detect hits from the laser guns.

"So, the setup is two teams of ten, a red team and a blue team." I say, looking at the team selection screen outside the field. "I'm going blue." I say, tapping that box. Our vests and helmets quickly change their color to match.

A minute later we're all standing in the waiting area with the other six members of our team, waiting for the match to begin.

"Ruby, you and I are on over-watch." I say, checking my weapon.

A buzzer sounds and we rush out onto the field, littered with pieces of cover, small buildings made of black plastic, and parkour-ish bits for those of us whose semblances and training allowed us to reach them.

I tap Ruby on the shoulder and point to a ledge with a good view of the field. I then bamf on top of a building and survey the field.

"Time to rock and roll." I say to myself, looking for a suitable target. "SUPPRESSING FIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE!" I shout, shooting at anything wearing the wrong colors, especially people who were shooting as opposed to attempting to hide. 'MORE DAKKA AHAHAHAHAHA!'

A few minutes of "suppressive" fire later.

"It's just me and you." I say to Yang. The rest of our team is out and we're up against three other people. All of whom are bunkered down in one building. "I've got an idea." I say to her, "Hang on and shoot anything that moves." I say. *Bamf* *PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW* 'Missed one.' *PEW*

" **ROUND OVER: BLUE TEAM WINS** " A video-game style announcer states calmly over a loudspeaker while the three reds and Yang are still trying to figure out what just happened.

"Kurt. The room's spinning." Yang says woozily, her hand pressed up against her temple.

"Oh… Yeah… You may feel some nausea after we teleport." I tell Yang belatedly.

"Thanks for the warning." She grumbles, leaning on the wall to steady herself while the reds file out.

"C'mon." I say, supporting her and leading her out to the field exit.

A few rounds later, we decided to go home.

"That was fun." I say, sitting on the couch reading _For The Emperor!_ , using the box of ammo as a footrest.

"Hey Dad!" Ruby says, walking into the room. "Can I go to from Dust Till Dawn?" She asks, a smile on her face.

"Why?" Dad asks.

"The new issue of Weapons Magazine is out." She says, excited as usual about the bi-weekly publication.

"Alright as long as Kurt goes with you. It's getting late so be quick."

"Alright Dad. C'mon Kurt, let's go!" She says, pulling me up.

"Alright, yeesh." I say, putting my greatcoat on and slipping my book into one of the many pockets.

After a bit of walking and using the tunnel-tram, we finally reached the store. I follow Ruby to the back, lean against the wall, put on my headphones and read my book to the wonderful tune of Sabaton's _Night Witches_. A few minutes later, the song is over and _White Death_ starts playing.

"Are you robbing me?" I hear Ruby say, looking up to see a goon in a black suit with red sunglasses and a hat.

"Yes!" He responds. I mark my page and slip my book into my greatcoat, sighing. 'I'd love to go to a Dust shop one day and leave WITHOUT the place getting robbed.' I think, a bit annoyed at my luck. 'But then again, beating up criminals is fun.'

And, with that thought, I launch a running, Aura-infused punch straight into the thug's gut, launching him across the store.

I nod to Ruby and pull Marxman from its holster, flicking the safety off and pulling down the hammer. ' _All alone, a man with his gun, wanders into the wild._ '

[Seconds later]

Ruby plants the tip of her scythefle into the ground.

"Get her!" I hear a familiar voice say. 'Oh yeah, Episode 1.'

I bamf into the street and pull out my headphones, blaring my music for all to hear.

{ _You're in the sniper's sight, the first kill tonight, time to die, you're in the bullet's way the White Death's prey, SAY GOODBYE}_ The music blares before I put my hand into my pocket, and turn it off.

"So." I say, aiming Marxman in a two-handed Weaver stance. "Who's next."

"Get them!" Torchwick says, annoyed.

As Ruby takes on two thugs, I put two rounds into a third thug who apparently didn't know when to stay down, the first breaking his Aura, the second passing straight through his right shoulder, putting him out of action.

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were." He says, before lifting his cane and firing a firework-like thing at Ruby, ignoring me completely.

as she dodges, he runs off to a ladder on a nearby building. I look over to ruby, who managed to jump over the blast.

"Let's go after him." I say, pointing to the rooftop Torchwick is on.

"Got it." She replies, jumping up.

*Bamf* I teleport to the rooftop, to see Torchwick.

"You again?" He says, finally recognizing me from our first encounter.

"Awww. He remembers me." I say as sarcastically as I physically can, before he steps onto the bullhead hovering nearby that I somehow failed to notice.

Ruby landed next to me as Torchwick's Bullhead took off.

"End of the line kiddies!" He says, tossing a red Dust crystal our way and firing at it with his cane.

"ACH!" I shout, grabbing Ruby and bamf-ing a few yards to the left, a yard or so from the edge of the roof.

"Whoa ho-ho-ho-"*CRACK!*"oh shit." He laughs before I bring up Marxman and fire around that narrowly misses him. 'YOU HAD ONE JOB SCOPE! ONE JOB!' I rage internally.

I look to the right to see Goodwitch shooting all kinds of crazy Dust magic at the bullhead. And in response, Torchwick runs to get the pilot who, quite irritatingly, manages to block everything me and Ruby fire at her. WITH HER HAND. "DAMMIT LADY DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE BULLETS ARE!" I shout, quite annoyed at wasting the rest of the magazine. I switch the empty magazine for a full one and rack the slide back.

"Hold your fire. We're just wasting ammo." I say, flipping Marxman's safety on, dropping the hammer and holstering it. "All we can do now is watch the fireworks." I say, gesturing to the battle of magic being waged in front of us.

Once the battle was over, we walked over to Goodwitch.

"You're a Huntress!" Ruby says, excited. "Can I have your autograph?" she asks, awed.

Goodwitch looks at her, then at me.

"So, where to now?" I ask.

[About fifteen minutes later]

"You put yourselves and others in danger." Goodwitch says sternly, continuing with her reprimand.

"They were criminals, they started it, and they threatened us. I see no reason why what we did was, in any way, a bad thing." I say, looking up from my book before promptly returning to it, barely paying attention to the goings-on around me. I notice Ozpin enter the room, put a tray of cookies down on the table and say a few things.

Eventually I decide to put away the book as Ozpin asks Ruby whether or not she wants to go to Beacon.

"And now we get to you, Mister Wagner." He says, looking at me.

"Indeed we do." I reply.

"I know you wish to come to my school. As a matter of fact, you were accepted to my school."

"Indeed I was."

"And why is it that you wish to become a Huntsman?"

"Because there is no position I hold in higher regard than one who is willing to die to defend others." I say, entirely serious. "Plus," I add with a smirk, "It's quite fun."

"The life of a Huntsman is no game." Goodwitch sternly says.

"Is that all, Professors?" I ask, quite eager to return home, read my book in peace, and prepare my things for my stay at Beacon, which begins on Monday.

"Yes, it is. You two are free to leave." Ozpin says, gesturing to the door.

"Wanna bamf home?" I ask Ruby.

"Really!?" She asks, excited.

"It'll feel a bit weird, so be ready." I warn, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Okay!" She says enthusiastically.

"On three. I say. One… Two… Three!" *Bamf*


	18. Chapter 18

Ch18: Day one

(Monday, Y+1, M+0, D+3)

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang says, bear-hugging the breath out of Ruby.

"We told you yesterday. don't act like you just figured out." I say, as Yang lets Ruby go.

"Yeah, yeah." She says, before looking at the news report being played one of the many screens in the airship. I, for one, decided to lean against the wall and read my book. FOR THE EMPEROR!

Meanwhile, questions were asked, vomit was… well… vomited, and a beautiful view of the city was promptly ignored. By me.

We arrived on the ground, and the poor soul known as Jaune Arc vomited into a nearby bucket.

"Poor guy." I say, tucking my book into my greatcoat, a dark blue commissar-style sash tied around my waist underneath a weapon belt.

'And there goes Yang.' I think, as Yang runs off with some friends whose features I cannot make out.

Ruby spins around disoriented and mumbling about dorms.

She is about to fall into a luggage cart but I quickly grab onto her hood and pull her up.

"Might want to be a bit more careful sis." I say, still reading my book.

"Do you have any idea how much damage you might have caused!" I hear.

Muttering some incomprehensible German, I stash my book in my greatcoat, adjust my hat, pull Blue Death's storage form from its place on my lower back, something I'd picked up from Ruby, cycled it to its AR form, clipped on the sling, and slung the AR over my left shoulder, and stepped into the path of the onrushing blizzard.

"Is there a problem miss?" I calmly ask the Heiress.

"Of course there is. Now get out of my way." She says, irritated.

"Why?" I ask.

"So I can… so I can…" She says, trying to find an answer.

"So you can yell at my sister for no valid reason, just because you need someone to get angry at?"

"Of course not you dolt!" She says, angry.

"Who even says that anymore?"

"GRRRRR!" She growls.

"Do you intend to continue being angry, or are you going to calm down?"

"Do you even know who I am?' She asks, quite angry.

"Do you know who I am?" I reply in question.

In response, Weiss uses a combination of snarls, growls, noises for which i have no name, and a few unladylike words.

"If you're done having your mental breakdown, I think I'll be on my way princess." I say, starting to turn around.

"It's Heiress, actually." I hear Blake reply, seeing her walk up to join in the conversation. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company." She states matter-of-factly.

"Finally some respect." Weiss huffs.

"Hello Kurt." She says, looking at me.

"Miss Belladonna. It's a pleasure seeing you again." I say, it'd been a few months since I last saw her at Tuckson's. Since the first meeting, we'd managed to strike up a few conversations about books, current events and the like. We weren't friends, but more along the lines of two casual acquaintances. "How've you been lately?" I ask conversationally, ignoring Weiss fuming in the background. Meanwhile Ruby had started talking to Jaune and the pair had wandered off in what they probably assumed was the direction of the auditorium.

"It's complicated." She says nervously.

"Then we can talk about it while I go direct my little sister back to the auditorium." I say, continuing to ignore Weiss.

"That would be nice." She says, probably noticing Weiss' current state.

"I think they went this way." I say, starting off in the direction Ruby and Jaune went, Blake walking alongside me. "So," I ask, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Firstly- I haven't seen you at Tuckson's for at least two months. Secondly, a highly trained… individual... such as yourself doesn't just show up at the most prestigious academy in Vale. And thirdly- a news report about your associates and a train car of Dust timed up suspiciously with you no longer showing up at Tuckson's."

"I'm a bit surprised that you managed to piece that together." She said.

"It was elementary my dear Belladonna!" I reply. "What happened, exactly? If I may be so bold as to ask?"

"It was Adam." She said, taking a breath. "We were on a mission and I found out that he had changed. He was a monster, and then I ran. It seems like that's all I can do is run some days."

"Maybe you just haven't found the right thing to stand and fight for." I say.

"I don't know." She said, sounding depressed.

"Cheer up, there's still time. Four years, as a matter of fact." I say, spotting Ruby and Jaune.

'Hey!" I shout, startling them, "Ruby! Auditorium's thataway!" I point in that general direction.

"Thanks!" She replies.

"So, Blake, what've you been doing since you left?" I ask.

"Training and doing some freelance work." She answers.

"Freelance work?"

"I was working as security for a club."

"Why would a club need that kind of security?" I ask, curious.

"The owner needed extra security after it got trashed."

"Was the club run by a man named Junior, by any chance?"

"How did you know that?"

"My sister trashed it."

"She looks a bit too young to go to, let alone trash, a club." Blake says, looking at me sternly.

"My other sister." I say, "The blonde one with the long hair."

"Is she your twin? You two look nothing alike."

"I'm adopted."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's alright. I'm not embarrassed about it. In fact, I'm quite proud about it. My adoptive father is a huntsman. Definitely cooler than whatever my other parents were."

"What do you mean, whatever your other parents were?"  
"I don't remember my parents. My little sister actually found me in the Eversnow Forest on Patch. I was bleeding out from a few gashes in my leg and my femoral artery was compromised, thanks to a Beowolf. I remember very little of my life before she found me. Not my family, not my home, not my friends. Hell, I don't even remember my own name! But they're my family now. They are what I stand and fight for. Maybe someday soon, you'll find that too."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said before hastily adding. "About the amnesia."

"It's alright. My life was probably a lot less interesting than what it is now. Most other jobs frown upon walking around all day wearing a small armory." I chuckle, pushing back my greatcoat to show Blake the rest of my kit.

"Why do you carry so many weapons?" She asks, "Most people only carry one, maybe two."

"Two cutlasses for melee, an AR that extends to a sniper rifle for ranged work, a knife because everyone needs a knife, and my personal favorite: the Colt M1911 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol." I say, unholstering Marxman and holding it pointed skyward.

"Did you make them all?"

"With the exception of the Colt." I say.

"Where'd you get it? Most people don't carry around scoped pistols."

"Hell if I know. I had it when I woke up in the forest. Killed a Beowolf with it." I chuckle. "Then its friends showed up."

"Sounds painful."

"It was. But then Dad unlocked my Aura and I got quite a bit better after a few hours of being unconscious. Ohey! We're here!" I say, as we walk up to the auditorium.

"Hey Kurt, we saved you a spot!" I hear Yang yell.

"That'd be my sister. See you later, I guess." I say, sketching a two fingered salute and walking off to Yang and Ruby, who were talking about Ruby not having friends.

"Why hello you two. Fancy seeing you here." I say, walking up to my sisters.

"Hi Kurt! I was just telling Yang about what happened **after she deserted me**." Ruby said, emphasizing the last part.

"Oh, that. Yeah. That girl was reeeeeaallly angry. Kinda surprised she didn't have an aneurysm or something." I say, smirking a bit. Out of the corner of my eye I spot Weiss. I turn, smile cheekily, and get an evil glare in return.

"Oh! There he is!" Ruby says, pointing to Ozpin, who was just walking onto the stage.

After a quite...unimpressive speech, Goodwitch gave us the schedule for the night and most of tomorrow.

Alrighty then.

[A couple of hours later]

"Yang, please, try not to corrupt Ruby. She's still innocent. Don't ruin it." I jest, dressed in my nightwear; a blue shirt and black shorts.

"Aww." Yang responds, with exaggerated sadness.

"Don't be such a crybaby." I joke.

"Hey, Ruby. What'cha doin?"

"Writing a letter to my friends back at Signal." She says, laying down on her sleeping bag, writing in a little journal.

"Awww! That's soo cuute!" Yang says, receiving a Zwei-pillow to the face in response.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" She said, still writing to her friends.

"Don't worry Ruby, you'll make friends. You just have to find 'em." I say, gesturing grandly to the other occupants of the room.

"Easy for you to say." Ruby said sullenly. "You already found that one girl."

"You mean Blake? I already knew her. We've seen each other a few times at the book shop. We're not that close. That was actually the longest conversation I've ever had with her." I say, chuckling a bit near the end.

"That still counts." Ruby says sullenly.

"What about that blond kid you were talking to. He seemed nice." I say.

"Yeah. So that means I have more friends than you!" She says happily.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" I ask.

"Well that crabby girl didn't like you. So that means you made one friend and a negative friend. And that makes zero." She says triumphantly.

"Even if that made sense, which it doesn't, I still have more friends that you haven't met." I say, smirking.

"Awww."

"Just think of it this way: at least you haven't made an enemy." I say.

"Yeah." She says, a little bit happier, before noticing something behind me and a bit to my right.

"Isn't that the girl you were talking to?" She asks, as I look over my shoulder, seeing Blake reading a book next to a lit candle.

"That's Blake." I agree, turning back to see Yang plotting.

"Are you plotting something dear sister?" I ask.

"Noooo." She denies somewhat sarcastically.

"How can you tell she isn't scheming?" Ruby asks.

"I've seen scheming. This is definitely plotting." I say decisively.

"Sheesh. I was thinking that you should introduce Ruby to Blake." Yang says.

'Blast.'

"She's not exactly the most outgoing person Yang. She'd probably much prefer reading her book to talking. To anyone." I say, before proceeding to fall fast asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Ch19: Initiation

"Time to kit up." I say, standing in front of my open locker, attaching my various pieces of web gear to my combat armor. I put Marxman in a holster on my left hip, my swords in parallel sheathes on my back, attached the C-100 to Blue Death in AR mode and made sure my various forms of explosive death were attached firmly to my web gear, before putting on my greatcoat, slipping my sunglasses onto my face, and putting my cap on.

"Hey Kurt, what are those?" I hear ruby ask, pointing to my shoulders.

"Something to remind me of home." I say, in reference to the small American flag embroidered onto each shoulder of my greatcoat.

"I thought you didn't remember your home?"

"I don't remember the house, but I do remember the country. Land of the free and the home of the brave." I say solemnly, checking my AR's magazine and reinserting it.

"Oh." She said, somewhat confused.

"I'll get around to telling you eventually. Probably sometime after the team selection thingy." I say, messing with her hair.

"Hey!"

"Alright, let's go then."

"KURT!' I hear someone shout from across the room. I turn to see Nora pointing at me with Ren right next to her. "Why didn't you tell me you made it in!"

"Why didn't you tell me YOU made it in?" I respond.

"Good point!" She says, after thinking for a few seconds.

"See ya soon." I say, leading Ruby to the cliffs.

"Who were they?" Ruby asks.

"The girl was Nora and the boy was Ren. I met them after the first robbery I stopped. I think you'll like Nora's weapon." I say, as we walk to the cliffs.

"What is it?"  
"You'll see." I say, walking on as Ruby and Yang chat with Jaune who is on the floor.

[A few seconds before launch]

'Blah blah blah first person you make contact with blah blah blah. GET ON WITH IT! I want to fly!'

"Now since there are an odd number of students this year, three of you will be grouped together. we will alert you when the three person group has been formed, so as to prevent any confusion.

"Off we go into the wild blue yonder." I start to sing under my breath as the person next to me launches. 'Climbing high into the sun.' "GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I shout as I fly across the sky, holding Blue Death close to my chest.

I bamf a bit higher to prolong my airtime, before spotting Yang shotgun-blasting her way across the forest.

I also spot Blake, arcing towards the ground.

*Bamf* I teleport to the ground, while training with my semblance, I had figured out that I am able to change my momentum, the only downside being that it was tiring to do so too much. Normally teleporting didn't affect me, although dragging others along with me put stress on their bodies which translated into nausea.

"I guess that makes us partners." I say, stepping out of the cloud of purple-black smoke created by my semblance and looking my partner straight in the eyes.

"I guess we are." Blake responds, and both our heads quickly turn towards the unmistakable report of a shotgun.

"Is there a team of three yet?" Blake asks.

"Only one way to find out." I say, as we head towards the sound of what can only be Yang beating the living daylights out of something. Blake spots the Ursa first and throws Gambol Shroud at it, killing it.

"I coulda taken him." Yang says, her hair smoldering.

"I don't doubt that." I say, a bit out of breath after my landing.

"Are we a team now?" Yang asks, noticing me.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS. THE TEAM OF THREE HAS BEEN FORMED." A loud voice announced via microphones that were probably scattered across the forest.

"And there's your answer." I say. "I think the temple is this way." I say while walking off towards the temple I saw during my short flight.

"Alright, let's go!" Yang says enthusiastically as I pick my way through the brush, AR at the ready.

[A bit later, at the temple.]

"I think this is it." I say, looking at the ruins ahead of us.

"Chess pieces?" Blake questions.

"I guess we pick one." I say, keeping watch for Grimm

"How about a cute little pony?" She asks, holding up a golden knight.

"Fine by me." I say, hearing a girlish scream.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang says, as Blake points upwards.

"Heads uuuuuuuuppppp!" I hear, seconds before I notice my little sister falling from the sky, only to be struck midair by a flying Jaune. 'And thus concludes today's episode of one-in-a-million collisions.' I think, marveling at the sheer implausibility of what just happened.

"Did your sister just fall out of the sky?" Blake asks us.

"Ummm." Is all I can manage before I am interrupted by crashing noises from the forest nearby. I turn to see an Ursa crash through the forest before falling over dead, an ecstatic Nora riding its back.

"Awww… It's broken." She says sadly as Ren manages to stumble in next to the dissolving beast.

"Nora! Please..." He pants "Never do that again." He looks up to notice that Nora has gone somewhere else.

Before any of us can say anything Nora is holding a golden rook.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sings aloud.

"Nora!" Ren shouts from outside my field of vision.

"Coming, Ren!" She replies, skipping off happily to stand next to him.

"Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asks, still processing.

"I…" Yang says, processing even slower, before being cut off by a screech as Phyrra runs from a Deathstalker.

Ruby lands nearby, having extricated herself from a tree.

"Ruby!" Me and Yang yell.

"Yang! Kurt!" Ruby responds running up to us.

"Nora!" she shouts, popping up from from behind Yang

"ACH!" I exclaim, in surprise.

"Did she run here all the way with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake questions aloud.

"Probably." I say, checking the assorted goodies stashed in my coat and attached to my web gear.

"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something _crazy_ happens again?!" Yang shouts, hair smouldering and eyes red.

'One...Two...'

Ren runs over to Nora as the two seconds elapse.

"Umm. Yang?" Ruby says, tugging on her sister's sleeve and pointing up.

"Oh my." I say in my best Sulu impression, seeing what appears to be Weiss hanging on to a Nevermore.

"How could you leave me?" I hear Weiss yell.

"I said jump!" Ruby replies.

"She's gonna fall." Blake states.

"She'll be fine." Ruby asserts.

"She's falling." The ever-stoic Ren observes.

A dozen or so yards before Weiss hits the ground, Jaune jumps out of a tree and Weiss falls into his arms midair.

"Just… dropping in?" he says in a voice he obviously thinks is suave. Before noticing that he is in the middle of the air. About thirty feet in the air. "Oh, God." Is all he can manage.

*THUD*

"My hero." Weiss says flatly, having landed on Jaune's back.

"My back." He weakly croaks.

Phyrra lands nearby and runs up, the Deathstalker a ways back.

"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang says sarcastically, as I press a stud on Blue Death's body, switching it from AR mode into a sniper weapon.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby shouts, charging the beast.

"Wait!" Me and Yang both shout as Ruby charges headlong towards a giant freaking scorpion.

She shoots at it a few times, gets knocked back by a claw, decides that her bad idea was bad, and runs back to us.

Yang runs to help Ruby only to be blocked by a barrage of Nevermore feathers, one of which pins Ruby's cloak to the ground.

*Bamf* "Hang on!" *Bamf*

"OhmygodthankyouKurtthankyouthankyou-" I interrupt Ruby as she thanks me for saving her life.

"I have two things to say to you Ruby. First: now we're even. And second: remember to use your scope. You have a sniper rifle. Take advantage of the range." I softly tell her. "You're my sister. I'd hate to lose you." I hug her for a few seconds before the Nevermore and Deathstalker screech again.

"Now pick a relic, things are about to get interesting." I say, pulling an object out of my jacket; a metal cylinder one and a half inches in diameter and two inches thick with the bottom end painted red.

"What is that?" Weiss asks, confused, as I insert a small chip into a slot on the top of the device and flick a switch on the side.

"Shaped charge." I say, checking the position of the Deathstalker, only to notice another burst from the woods a good distance away.

"I'll take care of them." Weiss says, summoning a pair of ice glyphs to trap the Deathstalkers and give us time to escape.

"You'll see." I say, tucking the charge back into my jacket.

"That thing's circling back! What are we gonna do?" Jaune asks, scared.

"There's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." She says, motioning towards the relics.

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and get back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live-that's an idea I can get behind." Jaune says, relieved.

"Let's get moving then. That ice isn't gonna hold forever." I say, covering the withdrawal. I see Yang and Blake standing. "C'mon you two. Get moving!"

"Alright. Sheesh."

"I'll be a sec. I've got a plan." I say, slinging Blue death over my shoulder and pulling the charge out of my coat. I peel off the red plastic coating, exposing a high-strength adhesive.

*Bamf* I end up next to one of the Deathstalkers, most of the body stuck in ice, with the exception of the claws and head.

I dodge the claws, climb into the head, stick the charge to its face and bamf back to my teammates.

"What was that about?" Yang asks as I pull a small device from my coat.

"This." I say, clicking the detonator. *Chink* *THUD*

The lower end of the Deathstalker's head comes apart as the charge blows a hole straight through the beast's armor.

"C'mon. The other one'll probably be breaking out soon." I say, unslinging Blue Death, switching it to AR form, and heading to follow the others, Yang and Blake close behind me.

we catch up to the group to see the Nevermore perched on a nearby stone structure.

We all quickly get behind cover, I hide behind a pile of stone near Yang.

"Well that's just great." She says, annoyed.

And then the Deathstalker bursts from the trees.

"Ah, man, RUN!" Jaune shouts as we all scatter, catching the attention of the Nevermore.

"Nora distract it!" Ren shouts.

"Fall back across the bridge!" I shout. "The Deathstalker can't make it across!"

I bamf to the opposite side and start providing covering fire to distract the Deathstalker from Ren, Pyrrha, and Blake. Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Yang are halfway across the bridge.

"Nevermore!" I shout, as the Grimm smashes through the bridge, stranding Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha on the other side.

"Man, we gotta get over there! They need our help!" Jaune says, at the edge of the bridge.

"Incoming!" I shout, the Nevermore circling back in the distance. 'This is gonna be a long day.' I think, shaking my head and watching Nora launch Jaune across the gap.

'And there goes Blake.' I think, watching Blake swing up and land on the Nevermore, slashing it as she runs before jumping off of the bird and landing near me.

"It's tougher than it looks!" She alerts us.

"OPEN FIRE!" I shout, dramatically pointing towards the Nevermore while striking a heroic pose.

'The bullets! They! Do! Nothing!' I think, mentally bemoaning the fact that I don't have a big enough gun. 'Bigger gun. After we get outta this, I'm making a bigger gun. Or two. Screw it, I'm making a freaking armory. More gun=more fun.'

"None of this is working!" Weiss shouts, shooting some kind of weird magicky thing at the Nevermore.

"I have a plan! Cover me!" Ruby shouts.

"DA COMRADE!" I shout with a stereotypical heavy Russian accent, raking the Nevermore with thirty-one rounds of fully automatic .30-06 fire. "That felt nice." I say, switching out my dry mag for a full one.  
Yang jumps up and holds the Grimm's mouth open, firing shotgun-blasts down the thing's mouth. It literally ATE freaking FRAG ROUNDS. 'Yep. Bigger guns. Many bigger guns.'

The Nevermore flies into a cliff after eating literal explosions. Weiss freezes it in place with an ice glyph while I throw a freeze grenade to help ensure that it stays.

Blake and Yang make a slingshot from Gambol Shroud's ribbon, which Weiss then uses to launch Ruby at the Nevermore, and then gives her a series of speed glyphs, which ruby uses in conjunction with her semblance and Crescent Rose's recoil to pull the Nevermore up the cliff face and then DECAPITATE THE FREAKING THING! Awesomeness then ensued.

"How do I get down?" Ruby calls out.

*Bamf* "Nice job sis." I say, taking her hand. *Bamf* "Now, which way to the cliffs?"

[About an hour and a half later, in the auditorium]

'Blah blah blah Juniper. Blah blah blah Jaune Arc.' I think, waiting for our names to be called.

And finally our team of five: Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Kurt Wagner, Ruby Rose, and Weiss Schnee. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. from now on, you will be known as team RWWBY (Ruby), led by… Ruby Rose.

"Nice job sis." I say, smirking as both she and Weiss stare shocked.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin says, taking a sip from the coffee cup he carries around habitually.

"Indeed they are." I say to him, as we file off the stage.


	20. Chapter 20

Ch20: Decorating…

(Wednesday, Y+1, M+0, D+5)

*WHISTLE NOISES*  
"ACH! SHIẞE!" I shout, falling out of my bed.

I pick myself up off of the floor and open the door to the guest room attached to Team RWWBY's dorm.

"What was that for!?" I ask, as my little sister ignores a similar question from Weiss.

"Now that you two are awake, we can begin our first order of business." Our Glorious Leader says.

"Eh?" I question.

"Decorating!" Yang says, holding a pile of assorted crap.

My eyes widen in terror.

"NEIN!" I say, running into my bedroom and locking the door behind me. I survey the space, a small room about a quarter of the size of the main room with a bed, a desk and chair, a small bookshelf, and a small dresser.

I quickly unpack my things, having bamf'd them in from home upon arriving to the dorm yesterday. My first order of business yesterday had been to secure the small room for my personal use, on the grounds that I did not want to share a bedroom with four teenaged girls.

I arrange my various books on the shelf, pack my clothes away in the dresser (after getting dressed, of course), and arrange the assorted furniture to one side of the room. Now to figure out how to get weapons racks and ammo crates. And a mini-fridge.

I walk out of my little room to find every engineer's nightmare: a pair of structurally… questionable… bunkbeds.

"Mein Gott. What have you done." I say. "You have broken every rule of common sense and good engineering. I am suddenly glad that I chose the guest room." I say, staring in horror at the structurally unsound contraptions before me.

"See even the Faunus agrees with me!" Weiss says, pointing at me, making a remarkably subtle jab. Also earning glares from everyone else in the room, especially me.

"What?" She says.

"Considering the fact that I am related to two of our teammates and have am friends with the other, you may want to think a bit more about insulting me. In fact, you are the only person in this room with whom I have had no prior contact." I warn the heiress, my tone even.

"Alllright. Our next order of business iiiiiis," Ruby says, pulling a book from the nightstand, "Classes…" She pulls out a pencil. "Now, we have a few classes together today. At 9, we've got-"

"What!? Did you say 9 o'clock?" Weiss demands anxiously.

"Ummm…" Is all Ruby can manage.

"It's 8:55 you dunce!" Weiss explains, rushing out the door.

I take a peek at the schedule: _Grimm Studies: Peter Port_ it reads, the room number listed beside the name.

I bring up a map of the school and find the room as Ruby Yang and Blake rush to class.

*Bamf*

I look around the room and pick a seat. A few minutes later, my teammates followed by team JNPR enter the room, exhausted with the exception of Ruby.

"How'd you get here?" Weiss and Jaune exclaim.

"I can teleport." I say flatly, sketching something in a notebook.

Everyone sits down as class begins, Ruby to my right, then Weiss, Yang, and Blake.

"What're you drawing?" Ruby asks.

"A gun." I respond without looking up. "Or two. Or three. Or all of them."

"I think the scaling may be a bit off."

"It's not."

"Oh. Coool." Ruby says, looking over the designs. "Why are you drawing more guns?"

"Because I'm going to build them." I say, pointing to a powerful-looking sniper rifle. "That one first."  
"Why do you need more weapons? Aren't you happy with the ones you have?"

"I am, but these are for when things get difficult. The ones I have now are good all-around weapons, but sometimes you need a bit more… punch." I say, sketching down a cartridge.

As class dragged on, Port's lecture became even more boring. Ruby was doing weird, childish things in my peripheral vision.

Eventually I just decided to use a different page to sketch something else.

'Blah blah blah hunter. Blah blah blah honorable. Blah blah blah believes blah blah blah.' I think, not really paying attention.

"I do, sir!" I hear Weiss shout. I quickly look up to see her walk to the changing room, presumably to fight the caged Boarbatusk that nobody noticed until now.

When she gets back, she gets into a fencing stance of some sort and prepares to fight the beast.

Port slashes off the lock on the cage and a Boarbatusk jumps out. 'Oh joy, a fight scene...' I think, tucking away my sketchbook in my coat, which is part of my uniform and shall continue to be for the rest of my time at Beacon, and continuing to read the glorious adventures of Ciaphas Cain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM.

In the background I note Weiss fighting the Boarbatusk, my other teammates encouraging Weiss, and Weiss being much too crabby towards my little sister. 'I know that this works out in the end more or less, but it's still quite irritating.'

After the fight ended, Weiss quickly left, Ruby quickly leaving to try and catch up. A second later, I decided to go follow Ruby. She is my little sister after all. I see an obviously distressed Ruby talking with Ozpin. I walk faster to catch up with Weiss. 'Grrrrrrrrrrrr.'

"What was that all about!?" I ask angrily, grabbing Weiss' shoulder.

"EEP!" She squeals, spinning around to face me. In her eyes I see, in this order, fear, realization, and anger. "What did you expect! My teammate is a child! I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Why don't you expect me to understand? Because I'm some sort of strange, malignant animal? Because I sure as hell don't feel like one. In fact, I feel quite angry that someone decided to vent their bitchiness on my little sister! I feel angry that people can't overlook a few insignificant physical features and see that I'm a person too! People like you cause the very monsters that you refuse to acknowledge!" I speak harshly, keeping my voice down.

She just makes a dismissive noise and walks out onto a nearby balcony, where I can see Professor port standing, looking out over the Academy.

I sigh, deciding to walk back to the dorm.

"Hey Kurt!" yang says as I walk into the room. Blake, Ruby and Weiss are all absent.

"I think I'm going to tell them." I say to her.

"What?" She asks, confused.

"I'm going to tell them what I told you guys after you found me. We're teammates after all, they'll find out eventually if I don't tell them." I say, sighing and walking into my room. "I'll tell them when everyone's back. I don't care what time it is. I'm telling them today." I tell Yang, closing my door and deciding to calm down via the power of SWEDISH POWER METAL.

(Cue _Ghost Division_ by Sabaton)

'That's better.' I think, laying down on my bed.

[A while later]

Despite the fact that I was listening to music, I still heard the dorm room's door open and close.

'Took her long enough.' I think, pausing my music and opening the door.

"What are you-?' She asks, as she sees me walk out of my room.

"EVERYBODY GET UP!" I shout, shocking everyone awake. 'Thank Murphy these rooms are soundproofed.'

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" The other girls shout at me.

"Now that everyone's here, It's time I told you two something. I say, looking at Weiss and Blake.

"What?" The girls ask, confused.

"Yang, Ruby I'm telling them what I told you after you found me. I'm telling them where I'm from." I say, flicking the lights on, much to the dismay of the others.

"What is all of this about?" Weiss asks.

"Exactly one year and five days ago, I woke up in the Eversnow Forest on Patch, I didn't remember my name, my friends, or my family. On my person were a phone, a battery pack, my handgun," I gesture to Marxman, still on my hip, "five magazines, and a spare round. I had no idea where I was, who I was, or what was going on. I heard gunfire and decided to chance it and head in that direction. I ran into a Beowolf and killed it. I kept going further and ran into another Beowulf. It didn't end well for me." I say, pulling up my left pant leg to reveal the scar that I got courtesy of a very irate Beowolf. "Next thing I know, I'm waking up in their," I point to Yang and Ruby, "house, I've got blue hair, yellow eyes, elf ears, and a freaking tail." I say, pointing to my various features. "I did remember some things though. I remembered science, math, that kinda stuff. I also remembered history. Except, not necessarily the history you four know." I say, breathing in. 'I'm not from Remnant. I'm from somewhere else, from Earth. A different planet. I don't know how or why, but I probably won't be able to go back. Earth is… different. A lot of things don't exist on Earth, namely Grimm, Dust, Aura, and the Faunus. The population of Earth as of the day I left was somewhere between seven and eight billion people. Another difference is war. As of the day I woke up here, there have been two wars large enough to be called World Wars. We also fight quite differently. To put it simply: melee weapons are virtually nonexistent in the armies of Earth. We use guns." I say, taking a breath and allowing for questions.

"But what if your gun can't kill whatever you're fighting?" Weiss asks.

"Then you're not using enough gun. Point is, on Earth humans fight humans. There is no other enemy to fight so we fight ourselves." I say, earning looks of dismay from the girls, mostly from Weiss and Blake, since Yang and Ruby already knew. "And finally, the nation I am glad to call my home. The only thing I remember about my home is the country itself. America, land of the free and the home of the brave. That's what this flag means to me: it means that no matter where you are, there are men and women willing to lay down their lives to protect yours. That is one thing that I will never forget. To quote a religious text from Earth: _Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends._ " And with that, I walked into my room, closed my door, changed into my pajamas, and fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

Ch21: Unofficial declaration of war

(Tues, Y+1, M+0, D+25)

"He does bully you a lot." I tell Jaune, as both of our teams are eating lunch.

"If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask." Phyrra says.

"Oooooh!" Nora says, standing up on the table with an evil gleam in her eye and a similar smile on her face, "We'll break his legs!" She proposes.

"We're not breaking his legs." I tell Nora, as she sits back down with a frown. "But I do have a rusty scalpel I can lend you." I say, a sadistic smirk on my face.

"Uhhhhhh." Is everyone else's (except Ren and Nora) response to my unusual comment.

"Where did you get a rusty scalpel?" Ren asks.

"Part of a very complex emergency psychological warfare plan, it also involves a wooden spoon, a set of speakers, and a lot of plastic zip-lock bags." I say, entirely serious.

"You have psychological warfare PLANS?!" Weiss almost shouts.

"Honestly, what did you expect? I have a LOT of plans. What do you think I do with my spare time?"

"Work in the forge?" Yang says.

"That too." I say, I've spent a lot of spare time in the forge making new weapons and making a bit of Lien on the side by helping others fix and improve theirs.

"Guys, really, I'm need to break his legs," He looks at Nora, "or… worse." He looks at me uneasily, to which I respond with an evil smirk, "Besides, he's a jerk to everyone, not just me." He says.

"Ow! That hurts!" I hear a slightly British voice say from behind us, along with cruel laughter. We turn to see team CRDL bullying a rabbit-Faunus girl by tugging on her ears. "Please, stop…" She says, as CRDL continue with their cruelty. They eventually relent and she walks away, hiding her face out of shame.

"Disgusting." I say angrily, a plan forming in my mind.

"It must be hard to be a Faunus." Phyrra says, I respond by looking at her with a raised eyebrow. 'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-" She hastily adds.

"It's alright, I'm not angry. With you at least." i say, with an evil grin, a plan in my head. "On a totally unrelated note, do any of you happen to know which Dorm they're staying in?" I nonchalantly ask my table-mates.

"Room 215, why?" Jaune answers.

"Be back soon." I say, before walking outside. *Bamf*

*Bamf* I teleport back a few minutes later, walking back in and sitting down.

"What was that about?" Yang asks, Jaune having left the table while I was gone.

"Nothing lethal, I can assure you." I say, before digging into my food, dispelling any further conversation.

[Two hours later, History class.]

I watch Dr Oobleck, a man that I internally refer to as _Dr Caboose_ , zip around the room and deliver a rapid fire history lesson on the history of Remnant. Today's lesson appears to center on the Faunus War and its repercussions.

"Now! Have any of you been subjugated or discriminated based on your Faunus heritage?" He asks, and in response multiple students, Velvet and myself included, raise our hands.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is _precisely_ this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" He says, taking a sip of coffee. 'What in Murphy's name is in that coffee and where can I get it?' I think, trying desperately to stay awake. 'Guess I shouldn't have started planning guerilla warfare contingencies at one in the morning.' I think as Dr Oobleck asks about the turning point of the war.

Weiss raises her hand. "The battle at Fort Castle." She answers correctly.

"Precisely! And who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" He asks.

"Hey!" I hear Jaune exclaim, drawing the attention of Oobleck.

"Mr Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" He questions the rudely-awakened student.

"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... of the Faunus...Had over that guy's stuff…" He verbally stumbles, desperately searching for help, which Phyrra provides. "...Uhhh… **Binoculars**!"He declares triumphantly, to the amusement of most of the rest of the class.

"Very funny, Mr. Arc! Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!" Oobleck questions Cardin, noticing his amusement at Jaune's answer.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an _animal_ than a soldier." He says, probably thinking himself quite funny.

"You're not the most intelligent of individuals, are you Winchester?" I ask.

"You got a problem with me?" He asks threateningly.

"Yes, one that can easily be settled tomorrow during Dueling class. But this is history, it would do you well to listen for once." I say, earning a chuckle from the rest of the room. "But, Doctor, I do have the answer." I say more seriously, causing him to zip over to my side of the room.

"And it is?"

"Most of us Faunus have near-perfect night-vision. The general obviously didn't know that and decided to attempt a night assault. He failed horribly; he was captured and his force was decimated." I state, "Perhaps if he'd payed attention during his classes, he wouldn't have been remembered as a disgrace." I add, earning another laugh at Cardin's expense. His only response is to clench a fist and stand up as if to threaten me.

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck says, as if disappointed. "You _and_ Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." He adds, before taking a sip of what I can only assume to be pure, concentrated caffeine and launching into the next part of the lesson.

[End of the day, RWWBY dorm.]

 ***BANG*** I hear from my room, followed by screams of panic, interrupting my video-game duel with Yang.

"What was that?" Yang asks, as my teammates all bolt upright and try to figure out what just happened.

"Flashbang." I say, pausing Shadow Tournament 3.

"What did you do?!" Weiss demands.

"I rigged a flashbang in team Cardinal's dorm. It was set to go off after they open the door." I say, calm. "They must have gotten back late." I deduce.

"What?" My teammates ask, confused.

"A flashbang. It's a non-lethal device that explodes creating a loud noise and a bright light. It is designed to disorient an opponent, and is usually used in room-clearing and CQB in urban warfare." I explain, before gesturing to the console. "Now, Yang. Where were we?"


	22. Chapter 22

Ch22: The Bird vs the Elf

(Wed, Y+1, M+0, D+26)

"Hey Phyrra." I say, keeping pace with her.

"Oh, hi Kurt. I wasn't expecting to see you up this early." She says, as we both jog around the campus.

"Running is an important skill that I intend to keep." I say with a smirk. "Plus it helps me think. I'm trying to figure out a few projects." I add.

"What are you making?" She asks.

"Armor." I say, ideas bouncing around in my head, 'No. Too bulky. Not mobile enough.'

"Don't you already have armor?"

"I was thinking of making my own. Something more personalized. Something more… Kurt."

"Now what exactly would that be?"

"Something full-body. With a full-face helmet. And all of the fun stuff that generally goes in the helmet."

"Wouldn't a helmet restrict your vision?"

"Not how I'm planning it. I'm going to put micro-cameras covering my blind spots. should give me close to 360-degree coverage."

"You've really planned this out." She sounded a bit impressed.

"It's what I do best." I say, looking at my watch. "Ohey! Look at the time. Class starts in a half hour. See you in class!" I say, heading off towards the dorm.

"Are you really going to fight Cardin?" She asks, sounding a bit concerned.

"Why not? I've got a few toys to test out and I need a test subject. Plus, it should knock him down a few pegs."

[45 minutes later, Dueling class]

"Now, who would like to go next?" Goodwitch asks, as Ren and some student I don't know leave the arena.

"I would." I say, raising my left hand.

"And who would you like to choose as your opponent?"

"Winchester. We still have a matter to settle." I say, momentarily bamf-ing to my room to grab a couple of weapons. I reappear on the arena floor, as Cardin heads down with a self-confident/evil smirk.

As we both move to our respective places, I perform a last second weapon-check and chamber a round in my weapon.

"Whenever you're ready." I say to Cardin, holding my weapon at hip level, pointing unerringly at him.

As he rushes at me, I hold down the trigger, the unceasing roar of a fully-automatic shotgun filling the room. The five rounds, an alternating series of slug and fragmentation, hit him at full force, knocking his aura down to about a quarter, before he gets about five feet away and I teleport to the other side of the room, slinging the shotgun over my shoulder and unfolding a metal tool about two and a half feet long.

"A shovel?' Cardin questions, before breaking out laughing, "You're going to fi-" *bamf* *CLANG* I smash the flat end of the shovel into Cardin's face and he goes down, his aura under one-sixth, ending the match.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I DID just beat you with a shovel. Although technically it's an entrenching tool." I say, folding down my reinforced-metal tool and slipping it back into my greatcoat.

"Kurt Wagner wins the match." Goodwitch states as Cardin picks himself up from the floor, swaying a little bit.

"Lucky shot…" Cardin mumbles.

I chuckle, flicking the mag release and pulling the ten-round box magazine from the weapon, sliding it into an empty web pouch.

I walk back to my spot in the seats around the room and sit next to my little sister.

"This is the AA-8, a fully automatic, eight-gauge magnum shotgun using ten-round detachable box magazines." I tell her, as she opens her mouth to ask a question.

"Cool."

"I load it with both solid and exploding high-velocity rounds."  
"Why high-velocity rounds?" She asks, the ammunition in question being highly uncommon amongst hunters and huntresses.

"I get tired of people blocking and dodging my bullets. Very. Tired." I say. "And I firmly believe that there is no such thing as overkill."

"And that's why you have so many guns?"

"Bingo." I smirk, "And making 'em is fun."

[Forever Fall Forest.]

(Friday, Y+1, M+2, D+16)

"I'll cover you girls while you get the sap, alright?" I say, shouldering the AA-8, AKA Demon's Roar.

"Where's Jaune?" I ask NPR, Phyrra having taken charge in their leader's absence. "He's been absent quite often lately."

"He's with his buddy Cardin and his team." Phyrra says with a strange combination of anger and sadness.

"Well then. Hope he figures out where his real friends are." I say to her.

"Us too." she says, gesturing to the others.

"Hey Kurt!" I hear Nora say, calling to me.

"Hey Nora." I say, smiling.

"Can you make me something?"

"What would you like?"

"New shells for Magnhild."

"What do you want them to do?"

"You know those grenades you used on me during our first fight? Could you make me some of those? Pleeeassee." She asks me, almost begging.

"Flashbangs? Sure. It'll be a nice challenge. If you want, I could make you a few other varieties too."

"Really! How much would that cost?" She asks.

"Just try not to blow up the school. I don't charge friends." I tell her.

"YAY!" She shouts, smiling happily and giving me a bear hug that manages to lift me off my feet.

"Ummm… Ren? Can't… Breathe… Help." I manage to squeak to Nora's partner.

"Nora. Put him down. he needs to breathe." Ren told his friend.

"Ok Ren!"

"Thanks Ren." I say, breathing in deeply.

"You're welcome."

*ROAAAAAR*

"Did you guys hear that?" My little sister asks.

"Of course we heard it. Sounds like an Ursa. Big one." I say, hearing the noise of people running fleeing through the forest towards us.

Cardin's teammates flee towards us, screaming something about an Ursa. One runs straight into Yang who, unfazed by the collision of the boy, picks him up by the shirt.

"Where?" She demands.

"Back there! It's got Cardin." He says, flailing in the air.

"Jaune!" Phyrra exclaims, fearing for her team leader's safety.

"Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!" Ruby orders, as Yang and Blake rush off towards the LZ.

"You two, go with them! There could be more!" Phyrra says to Ren and Nora.

"And the rest of us?" I ask, knowing where this is heading.

"We're going to help Jaune." Pyrrha says.

"Good." I say, pulling the charging handle back halfway to make sure a round was loaded.

"This way!" Ruby said, leading us forwards.

'We really need to talk about proper utilization of cover sometime.' I think, doing my best to keep up while still using nearby trees as cover.

"Oh, no!' Phyrra exclaims, seeing the Ursa Major loom over Cardin, as it swings a paw to eviscerate him, only to be blocked by Crocea Mors.

"Wait!" Phyrra says to Weiss and I as we prepare to fight.

"C'mon. I wanna kill it!" I whine childishly.

Phyrra watches as Jaune defends Cardin, raising her hand, which glows black for a second or two as Jaune's shield rises to block the Ursa's next strike. Jaune swings his sword, decapitating the Ursa.

"Impressive." I say flatly, as Phyrra hand stops glowing.

"Uhhh...What?" Ruby asks, confused.

"How did you...?" Weiss asks, amazed.

"Well, Ruby has her speed, Kurt has his teleportation, you have your Glyphs. My semblance is polarity."

"Whoa, you can control poles…" Ruby says, awed. '*Internal sigh*'

"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!" Weiss scolds.

"Magnets are cool too…" She whispers.

"Back to the Ell-Zee then?" I say, heading towards the LZ with Pyrrha.

"Wait!" Weiss says, "Where are you two going?"

"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened!"  
"We could… Or perhaps we could keep it our little secret." Pyrrha says, walking away.

"C'mon you two." I say to Weiss and Ruby, heading off to the LZ.


	23. Chapter 23

Ch23: Seriously Weiss?!.

(Friday, M+3, D+21)

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss says with a smile.

"Who are you and what have you done with Weiss?" I say. "The _real_ Weiss would never do something so plebeian as smile!"

She stares at me darkly before continuing as before. "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

"Aaaannnddd there's the Weiss we know! Nice having you back." I say.

"What do you mean by that?" She asks.

"Oh, you know, somehow managing to turn a fun day in Vale boring. That kinda stuff." I say, a foghorn sounding somewhere in the distance, and the unsubtle stench of freshly caught fish reaching my nose.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon at the stupid docks?" Yang asks.

"They smell like fish." Ruby says, her sleeve in front of her face.

"I heard that the students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a student at Beacon, I feel that it is my duty to welcome them."  
"So you mean spy on them." Yang says.

"You can't prove anything!"

"Whoa… What happened there?" Ruby says, seeing a storefront almost covered in police tape.

"Probably Roman again." I say, as we walk up.

"Who?" The group asks.

"You know, Roman Torchwick. I stopped three of his robberies. Dust shops appear to be his MO." I say, having done minor research on my foe.

"Oh yeah, that guy." Ruby says, remembering the fight that got her into Beacon.

"What happened here?" I ask the two familiar detectives standing in front of the shop.

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The detective that looks like Burnie says disgustedly, turning to his partner, who looks like Joel.

"That's horrible." Yang says quietly.

"They left all the money again." Detective Caboose says.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" Detective Burns questions.

"I don't know, an army?"  
"You thinking the White Fang?"  
"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."

"Hmm!" Weiss crosses her arms and tilts her head upwards, "The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." 'Great. Frakking great.'

"What's _your_ problem?" Blake asks confrontationally.

" _My_ problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"That is quite far from the truth Weiss." I say. "The White Fang is comprised of Faunus. For as long as history can remember the Faunus race has been treated quite poorly. Even now. They're not insane. They're angry and misguided." I state calmly.

"Misguided!? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"When the right people say the right things, an entire nation can turn to evil. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad people. It just means that they were lied to, enraged, given a gun, and let loose."

"They're still a bunch of scum." Weiss huffs. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"Well then. this is getting us nowhere-" I say, before something cuts me off.

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!"I hear someone yell from the docks. We quickly walk to a nearby railing to investigate.

We see a blond Monkey Faunus run off a ship, mock assorted sailors and law-enforcement officials, and run off into the Sun-set.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss shouts, running after him.

Only to turn a corner and run face-first into a robot-girl.

"No, he got away!" Weiss says, unaware of the fact that she was laying on the ground on top of someone else.

"...Uhhh Weiss?" Yang says, pointing to Penny.

Weiss finally notices and quickly gets up, while Penny still lies on the ground.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" Penny says.

"'Allo" I say.

"Uhhhh…" Ruby is confused.

"Are you… okay?" Yang asks, confused.

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking." Still on the ground.

"You want to get up?" I ask.

"Yes!" She says, leaping to her feet.

"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asks before Blake elbows her. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"Kurt."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that." Weiss points out.

"... So I did!"

"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss says, capitalizing on the break in Penny's train of thought.

"Take care, friend!" Ruby says.

We quickly make our way in the general direction of away.

"She was… weird…" Yang comments.

"Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss asks, looking around.

"What did you call me?" Penny says, popping up in front of Weiss.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!" Yang apologizes.

"No, not you." Penny says, moving to Ruby. "You!" She emphasizes, pointing at my little sister.

"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh…" Ruby stutters, confused.

"You called me friend! Am I really your **friend**?" Penny asks, much to the dismay of the others.

"Ummm…" Ruby looks to us, seeing the others motioning negatively. "Y-yeah, sure! Why not?"

The girls faint and I just stand there.

"Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys." Penny says excitedly.

"Oh, was this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asks Weiss. 'Probably about something that happened in the Forest.'

"No- she seems _far_ more coordinated." Weiss says.

"So… what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asks Penny.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." She answers.

"Wait, _you're_ here to fight in the tournament?" Weiss asks, surprised.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny says, saluting.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss says.

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake jabs.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss retorts, Ruby zipping to her side.

"Yeah!" My little sister says, as they low-five.

"Wait a minute." Weiss says, walking over to Penny and grabbing her shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?"

"The who…?" Penny asks, confused.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake asks angrily.

"Huh?" Weiss turns to Blake.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate!" Blake angrily tells Weiss.

"He's a person, just like the rest of us." I say, gesturing widely.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weiss says, releasing Penny from her clutches. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!" Blake yells angrily.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang!"

I just stare angrily at Weiss, unable to form speak without using every curse word I know. And then using German to make more.

"You ignorant little _brat_!" Blake angrily growls.

Blake walks away and Weiss follows her.

"Call me when it's over. I'm getting tired of Weiss." I say to my sisters, barely managing to keep my voice under control. "If weiss hasn't calmed down by the end of the day, let me know." *bamf*

"Hey Kurt! What brings you here today?"

"Not much Tuckson. Couple of my teammates just decided that today would be a _wonderful_ day to get into a quite irritating argument. Got anything on vehicle engineering?" I ask, looking for information on one of my many projects.

"You read a lot of technical books for a Hunter in training." Tuckson remarks, walking into the back to find the books for me, motioning for me to follow.

"I'm a very creative person, what can I say."

"What do you think about the White Fang?" He asks out of the blue.

"Why do you ask?"

"I… I don't know. I used to think they were the answer to our problems. Now, I can see that what we do only creates more problems. We were supposed to be a symbol of unity." He says sullenly.

"I'd have to agree with you. You planning on pulling a runner?"

"Word is we're planning something big. I don't want to be around anymore when that happens. I don't want to be a part of it."

"I agree. If I were you, I'd be quiet about it. Don't make any noise, don't rock the boat. Just have a plan ready. When your exit strategy is ready, leave. What I'm saying is, be VERY careful. I don't think the White Fang appreciates deserters, or even those that are just thinking about it." I caution, remembering his fate on the show.

"Thanks. What you're looking for should be over here." He says, pointing to a row of shelves.

"Thanks Tuckson." I say, reading the spines of the books to find what I'm looking for.

"Why vehicle mechanics?" He asks, standing at the end of the row. "Trying to make yourself a car?"

"Something better than a car. Much better." I say cryptically.

"Alright then. Make sure everything goes back where you found it when you're done."

"I will."

[An hour and a half later.]

"Alright, here's your change." Tuckson says.

"Thanks."

"Kurt, could you do me a favor? I need this delivered to the Den. That club out in the commercial district. the address is on the box. Deliver it to a man named Junior." He says.

"What's in the package?" I ask, suspicious.

"Just a few books on drink mixing. There are a few drinks in there that he doesn't sell. Yet."

"Alrighty then. See you later." I say, walking outside.

I bamf to my room to drop off the books I'd bought and then bamf back to the city to drop off the package at Junior's.

[About fifteen minutes later, The Den.]

"Hey, kid. What're you doin here?" The bouncer asks, blocking my way.

"Delivery." I say, holding up the package. "For your boss."

"Alright." He says, stepping out of my way.

"Where would your boss be, exactly?" I ask the bouncer as I walk past.

"In the back, past the DJ booth, take a left, third door on the right." He says.

"Thanks."

*Whistling* I whistle the tune of _Piano Man_ while walking through the club to the door next to the DJ booth. I notice that most of the employees are armed with pistols, the occasional axe or sword, and a handful of assault rifles. 'I guess Yang taught them a lesson.'

"What are you doing here?" A girl dressed in red asks, holding a similarly-colored claw in my face, blocking the door next to the DJ booth.

"I'm here to deliver something to Junior." I say, holding the package up as emphasis.

"I'll take it to him." She says, reaching for it.

"Oi!" I say, pulling the package out of her reach. "I was told to give this to Junior, and I intend to make sure it gets to him."

She just looked at me angrily and stepped aside.

I nod to her and walk down the hallway, knocking on Junior's door.

"Who is it?"

"Package from Tuckson."

"Come in, it's open."

I open the door to see Junior sitting on a couch, opposite one of his men, something very similar to a Tommy gun on the table.

"Tuckson sends his regards." I say, tossing the package to him.

"Thanks." Junior says, pulling out his wallet. "Here's your money." He says, giving me twenty Lien.

"Sweet." I say, tucking the money into my greatcoat.

"Now, I know I just met you, but since you're here, would you mind delivering something for me?" He says. 'Wunderbar. Another delivery.'

"Sure, why not."

"Alright, I need this package," He hands me a relatively small box with an address written on it. "To be delivered to that address." He walks to the corner and picks up his bat/rocket-launcher. "If anyone asks you, this never happened." He says, shifting the bat into a rocket launcher.

"HAHAHA!" I start to laugh uncontrollably. "Okay then. but I don't really think you're in a position to threaten me." I say, pulling one of the flaps of my greatcoat to the side to show the various grenades, explosives and magazines attached to the inside. "Honestly." I tell him, "A bribe would have worked much better." I tuck my coat back, turn around and walk out, package in hand and Junior and his employee staring dumbly at the walking arsenal that is me. I pull out my headphones, put them on, and hit shuffle.

* _Come on Carolina! Have fun Carolina!_ *

[AN: Come on Carolina courtesy of Jeff Williams and the wonderful people at Roosterteeth.]

I hum along and walk out of the club, heading to the address written on top of the box.

[About half an hour later.]

I walk up to the row of tenement houses. 'Nope, nope, nope, there it is.'

I walk up a couple of steps to the door and press the doorbell, which produces a musical chime. After about ten seconds, the door opens, revealing. 'Oh.' I think, surprised. 'Run? Stay? Run? Stay? Run? Oh, frakkit, stay.' I think, debating whether to run or stay, deciding to deliver the parcel without fleeing for my life (yet).

"Package from Junior." I say. "Anyone in specific that I should give it to?" I ask the pint-sized powerhouse.

'"Nope."' I hear. 'Wait, is it just me or did her lips not move?'

"Did you just?" I ask, horribly confused.

'"Wait, you heard me?"'

"Yeees." I say, still confused. "Or the voices in my head are back, either way." I say, shrugging.

'*Giggling*'

"Alright then." I say, shivering. "What's in the box, if I might ask?"

'"Just some fabric for my parasol. It got a few holes in it. And a list of contracts."' I hear, as she pulls her parasol from a can next to the door, opening it to reveal a few large bullet holes. '.50, I'd guess.'

"How'd you get those? I wouldn't expect someone of your… appearance... to get into a firefight. I'm honestly a bit impressed. And also a bit terrified."

'"Sniper. Caught me when I wasn't expecting it."'

"Hmm… how do you fight with a parasol? Is there some sort of gun or sword you carry alo-" I stop abruptly when she pulls the sword from the parasol's handle. "Cool."

'"You're being quite calm about all of this."'

"I've had weirder days. My name's Kurt." I say, holding out my right hand.

'"Neopolitan. But most people call me Neo."' She says, shaking it, '"Come inside. It'll be nice to talk with someone for once."'

"Alright." I say, stepping inside to the small tenement's main room. Neo sits down at a small table and motions for me to do the same. "Nice place you've got here." I say offhand, looking around to see a rather unassuming dwelling. "What did you mean, 'It'll be nice to talk with someone for once.'?"

'"I'm mute."'

"Alright then. So, what did you want to talk about?"

'"I want to know why Junior didn't send one of his men."'

"I delivered something to him and he decided to ask me to deliver your package to you and said I quote 'If anyone asks you, this never happened.', while threatening me with a large rocket launcher."

'"How sweet of him."'

"I, of course decided to one-up him. And then walked here to deliver your package."

'"One-up him with what?"'

"These." I say, standing up and pulling my greatcoat apart, revealing my small arsenal.

'"Oh. Where'd you get those?"'

"That's for me to know. Maybe I'll tell you some other time."

* _Red like roses fills my dreams_ *

"Sorry about that." I say, pulling my scroll from my pocket. "Hey sis. What. Seriously. Alright, I'm coming." I talk into my scroll, hearing Ruby tell me that Blake ran out. I put the scroll back in my pocket. "Sorry, I've got to go. A friend of mine ran off. Some days I just can't catch a break." I sigh, standing up. "Nice to meet you Miss Neo. See you later." I hold out my hand and she shakes it.

'"See you too."' She says, a strange gleam in her eye.

"Bye." I say, walking out and slipping on my HUD-glasses. I walk a few blocks, making random turns to make sure I'm not being followed which, for a change, I'm not.

*Bamf*

"Hey Blake. Isn't that the guy from the boat?"

"AAAHHH!" Sun jumps up, screaming in a manly fashion

"How'd you find me?" Blake asks.

"Ruby called and told me you'd bolted. I guessed you couldn't have gotten too far. My next stop would've been the airship docks. Figured you'd want some time away from the Ice Queen." I say, walking towards Ozpin's tower.

"Where are you going?" She asks me.

"I'm going to talk to Ozpin. I've got a favor to ask of him."

"Who's he?" I hear Sun ask, having just landed after leaping surprisingly high in the air.

"One of my teammates." She says, as I see her lead Sun towards the airship docks.


	24. Chapter 24

Ch24: A deal with a Wizard

(Friday, Y+1, M+3, D+21)

[Ozpin's tower, elevator.]

*Ding* The elevator doors open and I walk into Ozpin's office.

"Hello Kurt. Why have you come to my office?" Ozpin asks me, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"I was wondering if you would grant me use of one of Beacon's empty hangers sir. I need some space for my next projects." I answer.

"And what might those be?"

"You've got cameras everywhere. You can watch." I say with a smirk.

"I'm afraid that I cannot give you permission to do whatever you wish with one of our old hangers without some idea of what you are making."

"Vehicles sir. I'm attempting to create a few vehicles as a sort of technical challenge for myself."

"And what would these vehicles do?"

"Considering my other projects sir, what else would you expect of me?"

"Very well then. I have transferred access to hangar B-17 to your scroll. Try not to cause too much damage."  
"I'll try sir." I say, walking out, whistling the tune of the USAF anthem.

[Ten minutes later, hangar B-17.]

I swipe my scroll on the pad next to the door and walk into the hanger, a metal room about the size of two football fields placed side-by-side. The door is located on the back wall in the bottom-left corner of the hangar. On the front wall are two much larger garage-type doors, each easily capable of allowing a Bullhead entry. On the short wall opposite the door is a small machine-shop and repair station, full of assorted tools.

'Wonderbar!' I think, excited. 'Probably not the best time to return to the room though.' I think, looking to one corner of my new workshop. 'I've always wanted a hammock.'

(Saturday, Y+1, M+3, D+22)

*YAWN*

"Welp. Time to get to work." I say, getting out of my newly-installed hammock. Next I used the machine shop to fashion a coat rack to store various bits of clothing on. I bamf'd to my room and picked up the books that I bought yesterday. Finally, I pulled out a piece of paper and started sketching a rough design of what I wanted to make.

[A few hours later.]

"Well then, look at the time." I say, looking at my watch. "Time for FOOD!" I say out loud, opening the door and walking to the cafeteria. I walk inside and pick up breakfast; a stack of pancakes and a turkey leg, because I can. I head towards an unoccupied corner of the cafeteria.

"Hey Kurt, where's the rest of your team?" I hear someone ask from behind me. I turn to see Jaune sitting with the rest of his team.

"I dunno, I've been busy all night." I say, sitting next to him.

"Busy doing what?" Phyrra asks.

"Ozpin gave me control over one of the old hangars. I'm using it as a workshop." I say, eating my stack of pancakes.

"Did you fall asleep in the middle of something?" Phyrra asks.

"Nope. I set a hammock up and slept in the hangar."

"A hammock! I've always wanted a hammock! Ren! Can we get a hammock? Pleeeaaseee!" Nora begs her best friend.

"Maybe later Nora. We'll have to see." He replies.

"Yeah, well, I've got a busy day up ahead so I'll see you four later." I say, finishing my pancakes, picking up the turkey leg as a snack and walking towards the airship docks.

[Forty-five minutes later.]

"Hey, Tukson. I've got a few questions to ask." I say, walking into the shop.

"Anything you need Kurt?" Tukson asks, sitting behind the counter.

"Does the White Fang have any stockpiles or weapons caches in Vale?" I ask, getting straight to the point. Tuckson is surprised for a second by my bluntness.

"Oh. There are seven that I know of." He says, pulling out a piece of paper and writing down addresses. "The safe houses usually store stockpiles of weapons, ammunition, a few vehicles, and the occasional prisoner. Why do you want to know?"

"You'll see soon." Is all I say, with a mischievous gleam in my eye. I pick up the list of addresses and read it. "Industrial sector. Makes sense. Thanks Tukson, I must be going now." I say, walking out. 'Now, all I need is a new outfit.'

[A few hours later.]

'There it is. Showtime.' I think, sitting on a rooftop in sight of one of the the safe houses Tukson had informed me about, a large decrepit-looking warehouse. 'Sorry pal, you picked the wrong people to work for.' I think, looking at a Faunus in a White Fang uniform standing guard.

*BANG* he falls, a hole through his shoulder. I work my rifle's bolt, feeding another round into the chamber.

I jump off the rooftop, running full-tilt towards the door the Faunus was guarding, using my shoulder as an aura-assisted ram to bash it down. I look around the warehouse, spotting a pair of guards, armed and running towards me.

I sling my rifle over my shoulder and pull an SMG from my white trenchcoat. I fire a few short bursts from the winter-camo weapon, doing my best not to kill them. They both fall, their minimal Auras depleted and a few holes punched into their bodies. I listen for a second or two and hear no other signs of life. I check the supplies stacked around the spacious interior and find a few rolls of cloth. Quickly I do my best to dress the wounds I caused and prevent my foes from bleeding out. I drag my unconscious foes to a corner, tie and gag them, and start taking stock of the supplies present.

With that done I take the time to look around the warehouse. A small office sits in one corner while rows of crates and shelves are layed out in a surprisingly organized manner. In the back, near a massive pair of loading doors, are a pair of four-wheeled vehicles, very similar in appearance to Hummers. 'These will be useful.'

I load as many weapons and crates of Dust and ammunition as I can into the vehicles, not bothering to leave room in the drivers' seats. Next I search the offices, finding a couple of filing cabinets and a couple of larger scroll-pads. I manage to shove those into the pseudo-Hummers. 'Let's see if I can do this.' I stand in between the two vehicles and place a hand on each. I focus on my hangar, closing my eyes. *Bamf*

I open my eyes to see the interior of my hangar. 'Mission: success.' I think, as I start to unload my spoils, stacking the assorted crates in a corner and setting the filing cabinets up near my hammock, tossing the scroll-pads on one of the repair-station's tables. Finally I change back into my normal street clothes. 'I wonder how the girls are doing today?'


	25. Chapter 25

Ch25: A day(not really) at the docks.

(Sunday, Y+1, M+3, D+23)

"Kurt! Where have you been!?" I hear, being tackled by a red blur.

I was walking to the cafeteria when I came across my sisters.

"You've been gone for a whole day!" Yang says, a bit angry.

"I didn't feel like dealing with Weiss." I say. "She's been a bit… insensitive lately."

"Where were you?" Yang asks. "Did you use an empty room?"

"Sorta. I've been busy. Ozpin let me use an old hangar for some projects of mine. I set up a hammock and slept there." I say offhandedly, leading the way to the cafeteria.

"What kind of projects need a hangar that big?" Ruby asks, curious.

"Once we finish breakfast I'll tell you. Where's Weiss, by the way?"

"In the room getting ready." Yang says.  
"Still? Even you don't take THAT long Yang."

"Hey! I like to take very good care of my hair!"

[A few minutes later.]

"Did you hear about the White Fang hideout the police found?" Yang asks.

"I heard they found one." I lie, eating a pancake.

"The police showed up to respond to reports of gunfire and found a White Fang hideout of some sort. The reports say that the facility appeared to have been raided; guards had been shot, tied up, and had their wounds bound. They said that there were signs of a short struggle: shell casings, bullet holes, and a few bloodstains." Yang informs me. "And the guards said that they were attacked by a man wearing a white trenchcoat, a white ski mask, and a white beret."

"Hmmm." I reply, finishing my food. "C'mon, I'll show you-"

"THERE YOU ARE!" I hear. 'Shiẞe.'  
"Hello Weiss." I say flatly.

"Where were you!?" She asks/demands. 'I wasn't expecting that.'

"Busy. If you come with us, I'll show you." I say flatly, starting off towards hangar B-17.

[A few minutes later, just in front of hangar B-17.]

"Why are we in front of a hangar?" Weiss asks.

"Because Ozpin gave me use of it for the rest of my stay here. I use it for my projects."

"Oh. Those." Weiss says. My technical skills were rapidly becoming known throughout Beacon. I'd had lots of requests for me to assist other students in improving and designing weapons, even from higher-level students.

"Welcome to The Flying Forge." I say, pointing to a sign I'd made in my spare time; depicting a B-17 silhouette in front of a pair of crossed wrenches. "And THAT," I say, pointing to a vehicle sitting proudly in the middle of the hangar, surrounded by assorted parts, "is what I've been working on."

"Why did you paint it all red?" Yang asks, looking a bit scared.

"Is it for me!" Ruby asks/squees.

"It's painted red because THE RED WANZ GO FASTAH!" I say quite loudly, shocking the three girls a bit. "And no Ruby, I would probably void my bowels in terror if you got behind the wheel." She looked a bit sad. "And Yang, I would probably do the same if you drove anything larger than Bumblebee." I turn to Weiss. "I actually would trust you behind the wheel." I say, surprising her a little.

"Thank you." She replies.

"What did you arm it with?" My weapons-nut sister asks excitedly.

"I'll show you." I say, walking over to my creation, and getting inside. I run my finger down the row of switches mounted to the ceiling of the vehicle until I find the right ones, flicking the pair of switches. A pair of semicircular doors on the roof of the vehicle, situated in the center of the roof of the MRAP-style vehicle, pop open and a matte black minigun quickly raises itself from its place on the ceiling of the vehicle's cabin. I exit the vehicle and see Ruby's face of pure unadulterated joy.

"Cooool." She says.

"It's called a minigun, chambered for .30-06, for the purposes of simplifying my logistics a bit." I say, pointing to my most difficult project so far.

"Minigun? It's not exactly what I'd call small." Yang says.

"To be entirely honest, I have no idea why it's called that." I reply.

"Where'd you get the truck?" Weiss asks.

"I built it." I say half-truthfully.

"Oh."

"Let's go back to Vale." Ruby says.

"Why?" Weiss asks.

"To look for Blake." Ruby says.

"Then let's go!" I say, ushering everyone out and making sure the door is locked securely. "ONWARDS!" *Bamf* 'Aaaand I left them behind. I guess they'll have to take the airship.'

I decide to spend the rest of the day just wandering around the city. Make sure the layout's in my head in the event I need to bamf somewhere fast. Maybe run into someone I haven't met yet.

[A few hours later.]

'"Hello Kurt."' I stop walking as I hear a voice in my mind.

"Hi Neo. How's life been to you?" She walks up next to me and we start walking.

'"Alright. Got hired by some Torchwick guy as a bodyguard."'

I chuckle a bit. "That guy's a whuss. I fought him a couple times. He ran."

'"I start working for him tomorrow."'

"Good luck then. Try not to die."

'"Why'd you say that?"'

"You seem like an interesting person. what can I say?"

'"You too. It's nice being able to actually talk to someone."'

"Danke."

'"Huh?"'

"Thanks." As we walk on, Neo stares at an ice-cream parlor. "You want ice cream?" I ask her.

'"Yes."'

We walk up to the counter and I place our orders. I order a chocolate milkshake for myself and a neapolitan banana split for Neo and pay the cashier.

We get our orders and sit down outside.

"How is it?"

'"Good."' I hear, as she happily eats her treat. '"Thanks for paying.""

"My treat. You can pick up the tab next time." I say with a smirk, taking a sip of my shake.

I hear giggling.

We pass the next few minutes with small talk and finish our cold treats.

"Well. I must be going, I've got some paperwork to do." I say, remembering the scrolls I nicked from the White Fang hideout.

'"Well that sounds boring."'

"But it'll lead to something interesting later on. So, until next time I guess."  
'"Until next time."'

I smile and walk off towards the docks, putting my headphones on and turning on Billy Joel. I take a few random turns and walk until I find a deserted alley. I slip in and bamf to The Cave. 'Time to get to work.' I think, grabbing a pen and a pad of paper and sliding open the top drawer of one of the filing cabinets from the White Fang safehouse. 'Gonna be a loooong day.' I think. 'Just a couple of hours then I'll get lunch. Then a few more hours and I'll need to get to the docks for some fun.'

[Hours later.]

I look at the notepad, an ordered list of notes and thoughts on the info I managed to retrieve. The filing cabinets mostly contained lists keeping track of the contents of the facility and who took what for later use. In other words: nothing incredibly useful to me. The important information was contained in the scrolls.

The biggest find was a list of **where** the various supplies were going to and coming from. By my accounting, the other addresses that Tukson gave me were joined by three others, along with some supplies being sent somewhere into Forever Fall. 'Interesting. What time is it? Oh. Might want to kit up and get to the docks, the fun should be starting soon.' I think, pulling my shirt off revealing a bullet and slash-resistant under-suit, woven in certain areas with a magnetic thread.

I quickly rush over to an OD-green crate in the corner where I'd set up my hammock along with a few other personal items. I open the crate and snap the armored plates contained within onto their respective parts of the under-suit. After all of the pieces are attached, I put my armored boots on, pull on a pair of armored gauntlets, tie my sash to my waist, clip on my weapon belt and, pull my greatcoat from a small hook on the wall and put it on. I grab my various weapons and some extra ammo, making sure everything is in working order. 'Knife, Colt, swords, ammo, explosives, Blue Death. Good, everything's here.' I grab the last item from the crate and clip it to my belt before bamf-ing to the dock area.

[A few minutes later.]

"Hey!" I hear, turning towards the voice. "Aren't You Blake's teammate?"

"Yes. Where's Blake?" I ask.

"I was just getting some food." He says, holding a few apples.

"What're you two doing?" I ask somewhat suspiciously.

"We're staking out the docks."

"Why?"

"To prove that the White Fang aren't behind the recent string of Dust robberies."

"I'm helping." I say.

"Alright then." He says, looking at me a bit weirdly.

"What?"

"What's that?" He points to something on my belt.

"Oh, this?" I point to the item. He nods. "It's a helmet." I say, placing it on my head and hearing the slight hiss of the helmet forming a seal with the rest of my suit. "Sweet, huh?"I say, my voice a bit distorted by the helmet's speaker.

"It's definitely different." He says. "Why are you wearing full body armor?"

"Because it's awesome." I say, gesturing to the rest of my jet-black, sci-fi inspired armor, plates covering my body, arms and legs. "Let's get going then. Can't leave Blake waiting."

"Follow me." Sun says, heading towards the coastline.

A few minutes later, we climb a rooftop and I see Blake laying down watching over the dock the roof overlooks.

"Hey Blake." I say. She jumps up and whirls around, drawing Gambul Shroud.

"Who are you." She demands, pointing her weapon at me. 'Well. That'd a new way to test my armor.'

I slowly raise my hands and pull off my helmet. "Forget me already Blake? C'mon, it hasn't been that long." I chuckle.

She looked horrified for a second before quickly sheathing her weapon. "What are you doing here."

"I decided to go walking through the city and I ran into your new boyfriend."  
"He's not my boyfriend." She says quickly.  
"And my name's Sun."

"Alright then. Incoming." I say, dropping flat and drawing Blue Death in sniper form.

"What?" They both say, dropping to the ground as well.

"Bullhead. Two klicks out." I say, reading the numbers on the display of my T-slit helmet.

A few moments later, a bullhead swoops in and lands, disgorging several White Fang mooks.

I heard Sun say a few things to Blake but I was too focused on what they were doing. The mooks were attaching tow cables to a crate of Dust.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" I see Torchwick walk out of the aircraft, gesturing widely. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

Blake and Sun say a few things that I don't pay attention to; I'm too busy trying to decide who to shoot first. But Blake decides to do something else, she rushes off towards the group, weapon drawn.

"Dammit Blake." I mutter, holding my fire.

I watch her take Torchwick hostage, holding her sword to his throat. She makes a short speech to the mooks before being distracted by the arrival of five more Bullheads. Torchwick takes advantage of this and fires a shell at the ground, knocking her back.

I switch Blue Death to storage mode and reattach it to its place on my back. I unsheathe the C-100 and another, bipod-free knife.

"Go help Blake. I'll take care of the Bullheads." I say, bamf-ing onto the top of one of the craft. 'I've always wanted to do this.' I think, activating my magnetized bootsoles, allowing me to avoid falling to my death. I carefully make my way to one of the engines, standing on the wing-like strut and crouching down to look at the joint between the engine and the craft. 'That looks important.' I slash and stab at various parts of the joint until the craft starts to lose control. 'One down, four to go.' I bamf to another Bullhead, giving it the same treatment. 'Another one bites the dust.' I bamf to yet another Bullhead, seeing Blake and Sun trying to hold off the small mob of mooks. 'This'll have to be the last one. Penny can get the others.' I think, rendering the craft unworthy of flight. I bamf to The Cave and grab one of the weapons that I habitually kept almost battle ready. I heft it and chamber a round with a satisfying noise. I adjust the heavy weapon and bamf back to the docks.

I spot Sun on the ground, Torchwick's cane is aimed straight at him.

"HEY!" I shout, loosing a couple of rounds in Torchwick's general direction, forcing him back and allowing Sun to get back up.

"Hey! Get away from him!" I hear a familiar voice from the rooftop.

"Well hello Red! Isn't it pat your bedtime?" Torchwick mocks.

I look to see my little sister and Penny standing on a rooftop.

"Penny, get back!" Ruby tells her friend, before Torchwick fires a shell at her.

*bamf* *boom* I fly back from the force of the explosion,landing a dozen or so feet away on my back.

I groan, standing up and dusting myself off, walking to my weapon, a large machine gun and picking it up.

"IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT TORCHWICK!? I'LL SHOW YOU A REAL WEAPON YOU SHIT!" I bellow, assisted by my suit's speaker system. "I'VE BEATEN YOU BEFORE AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!"

The distinctive and beautiful noise of 700 .50 caliber rounds per minute fills the air as I turn the barrel to the skies and riddle one Bullhead with Mr. John Browning's gift to the world. The other Bullhead quickly turns to attempt to make a strafing run and it soon regrets the decision, dropping from the sky to crash in a pile of twisted and slightly burning metal.

"OHHRAH! GET SOME!" I shout, as the belt fed gun runs dry.

I place my weapon on the ground. I momentarily flick my suit's voice projector off and utter a command to the suit's rudimentary systems.

Music blares and I draw Anne and Pearl.

*I AM NOW AN INSTRUMENT OF VIOLENCE!* The speakers blare, playing _Warrior_ , by Disturbed.

I take a running jump and land on the ground about ten feet in front of Torchwick.

"REMEMBER ME?" I shout, pointing at him with Anne.

"Well shit. GET HIM!" He points at me, ordering the mooks, who were staring at the burning wrecks of Bullheads scattered around the dock area.

"I've got them! Make sure they don't get away!" I shout to my friends, also standing stunned, as another trio of Bullheads swoop in. One lands as the other two make strafing runs on Penny, Ruby, Sun, and Blake, now standing together. I don't catch much of what happens, being swamped by mooks, but I do catch glimpses of flying swords and lasers. As I wade through the small army of mooks, I see Torchwick closing the door of a Bullhead as it escapes.

"Damn." I mutter as he escapes, blocking a slash by a sword-wielding mook. *THWACK* I block his slash with Pearl and punch him straight in the face with my armored fist. the last few mooks still standing look uneasily at me, hesitating. "Stand down and drop your weapons and I won't have to hurt you." I say, sheathing my swords and turning the music off. The mooks, six of them, are standing in a semicircle two yards from me.

"We don't take orders from _humans_." One of the mooks says, almost spitting out the last word.

I curl my tail out from my trenchcoat, into view. "You were saying?" I question, pulling Blue death from my back and switching it to AR mode, chambering a round, holding it at hip level aimed at them.

"Traitor! Get him!" The mooks shouts, grabbing a rifle from another mook's hands and pointing it at me.

*CRACK* *CRACK*

He falls over, a hole through the front of his head and a bigger one out the back. "Anyone else want to try me?" I say, still holding my AR at hip level, barrel smoking a little.

The five remaining mooks quickly wise up, drop their weapons and raise their hands as high as they can. I look down at my left breastplate, a mark now present on the plate. I bend down and pick up a flattened piece of metal.

Sirens grow louder as police finally respond to the chaos at the docks.

Ruby runs up to me. "You...you killed him." She says.

"He shot me first. If I wasn't wearing my armor, this'd probably be in my lung." I say, holding up the squashed bullet. "If the cops ask, I'll just show them the footage from my helmet cam. Either way, it was him or me. They survived," I point at the five mooks standing with their arms raised. " And so did they." I gesture to the couple dozen mooks scattered around the docks. All various shades of unconscious.

Police cars pull up and officers pile out.

[A few minutes later.]

are securing the area, arresting the various mooks, and documenting the condition of the area.

"Well kid, I guess it's better him than you." A police officer says, looking at the body bag on the ground.

"It's not pleasant sir, I can tell you that. Killing is something I hope I never have to get used to." I say, still holding the flattened bullet.

"Well. Good job with the perps kid. You say you took down five Bullheads?"

"Yep, three with a knife and two with the big gun. I say, pointing to the M2 sitting beside me. If you don't mind, I'm gonna go back to school. Get ready for school tomorrow." I say, placing the bullet in a pouch on my belt and picking up my M2.

*bamf*


	26. Chapter 26

Ch26: Break.

(Sat, Y+1, M+4, D+4)

"Hey Dad! Weeeer'reeee baaaaaacccckkkkkk!" I proclaim, opening the door to our house and walking inside, my sisters trailing behind me.

We are greeted by an overjoyed yipping corgi.

"ZWEI!" Ruby shouts, zipping inside and picking up the dog, hugging him and laughing as he happily licked her face in greeting.

"Hey! Dad! You home!?" Yang shouts, as we notice the conspicuous absence of our father.

"Where is he?" I ask, walking into the kitchen, seeing a note taped to the door of the refrigerator. "I found something!" I shout.

Soon Ruby, Zwei and Yang are in the room with me, looking over my shoulder.

I read the note out loud. "Will be in meeting at Signal until four. Remember to feed Zwei."

"What time is it?" Ruby asks.

"Three-forty. Why must you two always ask me for the time?"

"Because you've got a watch."

"You two really need to wear watches. Anyway, I'll be in my room." I say, walking off with my duffel bag. 'Sure is nice to be back here.'

[Four thirty-ish.]

"Hey kids! Sorry I'm late!" I hear dad shout.

We all soon gathered in the family room.

"What took you so long dad?" I ask, laying back in a reclining chair.

"Meeting went overtime."

"What was it about?"

"Just increased Grimm activity in Forever Fall. Qrow got sent out to join a team of novice huntsmen and make sure they get back in one piece."

"Awwww. I wanted to see uncle Qrow. We haven't seen him for months." Ruby pouts.

"And I haven't met him at all." I say, as I had been busy getting the snot beat out of me by Nora and Ren the day Qrow came to visit. He'd been busy with teaching for most of the year.

"How long should the mission last?" I ask.

"A couple of weeks. They're being very thorough, Forever Fall is much too close for comfort."

"I should hope so." I say.

"I heard you kids stopped a robbery a couple of weeks ago. Nice job."

"Actually that was Ruby, Kurt and a few friends of ours. Weiss and I didn't get there in time." Yang says.

"Actually, Kurt probably did the best of all of us. He took down five Bullheads." Ruby says a bit abashed.

"Five?" Dad asks, impressed.

"Yep. Two with a big gun and three with these." I say a knife in each hand.

"You took out three Bullheads with a pair of knives." Dad says, surprised.

"Considering the fact that I can teleport anywhere I want to instantaneously, it's actually not all that hard." I say honestly.

We talk for a few more hours about our various experiences at Beacon and our team.

"Well, I guess it's time to head in for the night." Dad says, looking out the window to the darkened world beyond.

I make my way to my room and dad follows me. when I sit down on my bed, he sit next to me.

"I also heard what you had to do at the docks." He says quietly. "It didn't feel good, did it?" He asks.

"It still doesn't. I had nightmares for just over a week. I still have them occasionally. It doesn't get any easier does it?" I ask Dad.

"No. Not really. The first one always haunts you. And so does the second. And the third. It still isn't easy." He says, staring off into space.

I nod. "Do you still remember?" I ask.

"Like it was yesterday."

"I guess I should really get to sleep soon." I say.

"Don't dwell on it too much. You did what you did and there's no changing it." He says with finality.

I don't respond, I just close the door and change into a tee-shirt and gym shorts. I turn on my scroll and set my music to shuffle.

I fall asleep to When You're Evil by Voltaire.

(Sun, Y+1, M+4, D+5)

It was midday and I was wandering around Vale, we had decided to go to Vale and just spend a day relaxing. Nothing to do, nowhere to be. Just going where we may.

"Hello Mister Wagner. I'm Cyril Ian with the Vale News Network and I would like to talk to you about the incident a couple of weeks ago near the docks." The reporter walks up to me with a cameraman and sticks a microphone in my face.

"Well first of all I would like to tell you what I told your colleagues last week: if you want information, look at the police report. I have nothing to say about the incident that night that the report cannot provide in greater detail."

"But we would like to know how you fee-" The reporter says.

"How I feel? How I feel about jumping in front of an explosive fired by a man trying to kill my little sister? How I feel about watching my life flash before my eyes as I wondered whether my combat armor would stop a bullet with my name on it, with almost no Aura to help absorb the impact?" I say agitated, rapping on the chestplate that saved my life. "How I feel about pulling the trigger and ending a man's life a split second later?' I say, getting angry. "The answer is that the people who could understand what I felt don't need me to explain what I felt, because they've felt it too." I say much more calmly. "Have a nice day." I say, turning on my heel and walking away, a bit irritated. "Bastad." I mutter under my breath, leaving the reporter and his cameraman far behind me.

A few blocks later, I was standing in front of Tukson's shop.

"Hey Tuckson." I say, walking in.

"How're you doing Kurt?"

"Not bad. Just a bit annoyed."

"What happened?"

"Reporters. You'd think after two weeks they'd either forget or move on."

"Why don't they bother the others?" The owner asks as I pick out a random book and flip through it.

"Because one of them can almost break the sound barrier and they can't find the other two."

"Why don't you just teleport away?"

"I don't want to telegraph my abilities that much."

"Well then I guess that makes you fair game."

"I guess it does." I say, putting the book back and flipping through another.

For the next hour or so we talked back and forth as I flipped through random books.

"And here's the change." Tuckson says, as I tuck my purchase into my greatcoat. "When'd you start wearing combat armor?"

"Week or so ago. I figure it's better to not need it and have it than need it and not have it." I say, shrugging.

"Where did you get it?"  
"Made it myself. Top-spec, all of the fun little gadgets I could stuff into it. And quite durable too." I rap my knuckles against my breastplate for emphasis. "When're you planning on getting out?"

"Next Monday."

"Try Sunday." I said. "Monday's the 13th. Doesn't feel right."

""Allriight then." He says.

"Well, see you around." I say, leaving the store. "Good luck comrade." I say under my breath, remembering Tukson's fate in the show.

(Sat, Y+1, M+4, D+11)

"You're late again Dad. I say, as he walks in with a look of pure anguish on his face. "What's wrong." I ask quickly, a bit scared. I'd never seen him like that before.

"It's Qrow. His team hasn't called in for four days. They've declared them missing and presumed dead." He manages, in a state of shock.

"Just sit down. I'll get you something." I say, quickly searching the house and finding Zwei, quickly picking him up and almost shoving him onto Dad's lap. "This should help you calm down a bit." I say, sitting down in a chair across from him.

"I can't lose another one. I just can't." He sobs.

"Just calm down Dad. They're never dead until they find a body." I say, trying to at least get him presentable before-

"DAD!" I hear, a red blur zipping in. I grab her by the hood and drag her back, setting her into a chair.

"YANG!" I shout, placing a finger over my lips to tell ruby to stay quiet.

Yang runs in. "Hey! Dad's back!" she says. I mime for quiet. "What happened." She immediately gets that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

"Qrow's team hasn't checked in for four days and they've been declared missing presumed dead." I tell the sisters, who immediately break down. Yang just stares into the distance and Ruby won't stop crying. "This is going to be a long night." I say, going to the kitchen to make three cups of whatever tea we had and a large pot of coffee for me.

(Sun, Y+1, M+4, D+12)

"Well Tuckson, I'll try to catch up with you if I'm ever in Vacuo. good luck pal." I say, standing at the inter-kingdom terminal in the Vale Airport. I shake the faunus' hand, giving him a slip of paper with my scroll number. "If you have anything you need to tell me or need any help, I'll do everything in my power to help."

"Thanks Kurt. By the way, I heard something about a base of operations in Forever Fall. They said that they captured a group of hunters searching the area a few days ago."

"Where is the base?" I ask.

"Somewhere near the coast. That's all I know."

"Thanks. See you around sometime." i say, touching two fingers to my brow in my signature goodbye as we part ways.

"This means war." I say to nobody in particular as I make my way back home.

[About an hour later.]

"Dad. I'll be going back to Beacon a bit early. I have a few things to take care of." I say. I hear the news playing in the background.

[Half an hour later.]

I stare down my iron sights at the mook standing guard over the White Fang storehouse, from the intel I'd gathered, it was one of the largest in Vale. Time to get answers.

"Sorry pal. You've just got bad luck." I say, squeezing the trigger. The mook drops, a round through his shoulder disabling him and the shock knocking him unconscious. I work the bolt and feed a new round into the chamber.

I jump from my perch on a nearby warehouse and hit the ground running, slinging my bolt-action rifle over my shoulder and barrelling through the storehouse's door like it doesn't exist.

In a couple of minutes, the other seven mooks in the building are bound, bandaged and lined up near a wall unconscious. I search the building for anything of intel value and toss it all into a large shipping container, along with Dust, any interesting weapons I can find, ammo, and various supplies of value. When the container is full, I bamf to The Cave with my spoils and decide to bamf back to the storehouse to search the rest.

when I get back, I open one large shipping container to find a beautiful sight: old combat androids, the models without integrated weapons. A good thirty or so are packed into the container.

"Score!" I say, my voice deepened by the voice distorter under my white balaclava. I bamf the crate to The Cave and keep searching. The next two containers are also full of androids, I take those too along with a container of weapons with which to arm them. 'Where do they get all this stuff? Probably steal it from dust companies.'

When I return for a final check, I hear a groaning noise come from one of the containers. 'What?' I think, confused. I open the container carefully. 'Mein gott. Nein. Nein.' "Schwien." I say, staring at a scene straight out of history.

Men and women shackled to the floor, beaten to within a millimeter of life, all suffering from various stages of malnutrition. I look at the doors of the crate, they read: For offsite facility FF-1.

I look across the vast storehouse to where I lined up the White Fang mooks. I walk to one of the weapon crates, pick up an AR, and slide a magazine into the weapon. I walk over to the mooks, all conscious by now. I drag them onto their knees, their backs a yard from the wall.

I bring up the AR and press the barrel into the forehead of the first in line and pull the trigger, splattering his brains across the wall. The other mooks beg for mercy. Mercy that only one receives. The first mook that I shot I leave alive, at the end of a row of seven headless bodies. I toss the AR aside, walking to the opposite corner of the storehouse and walking to the shipping container from Hell. I open the door and look inside.

"Soon you will be free." I say to them, as they stare at me in terror. I walk outside to a deserted alley and bamf to The Cave, to go over the spoils of my raid and hopefully forget what I'd seen.


	27. Chapter 27

Ch27: The raid.

(Y+1, M+4, D+13.)

I sit in the cafeteria and listen to one of the recently-installed televisions, currently tuned to the VNN.

" _Yesterday evening, the VPD responded to reports of gunshots in an abandoned warehouse in the industrial sector. The warehouse appears to have been used as a storehouse by the terrorist group known as the White Fang. Upon entering the facility Police state that it appeared to have been raided by an unknown force. They found eight White Fang members bound along a wall. Seven had been brutally killed execution-style by a discarded assault rifle found a couple yards away. The sole survivor's description of the attacker matches that of a man who raided a White Fang storehouse around a month ago. Police were horrified by the discovery of the executed terrorists until they also found a shipping crate that one officer described as being filled with_ the most disturbing things a person can see. _Young children and the elderly are advised to look away as the following images are highly disturbing._ " Lisa Lavender says, as a series of images display slideshow-style on the screen. Gasps of horror and disgust echo across the cafeteria. Yang, Weiss, Ruby, Blake and JNPR are horrified at the sight and even though I knew what I would see, a look of disgust and hatred spread across my face, scenes different yet the same play in my mind.

"I had no idea." I hear Blake say, so quietly that I could barely make it out even with my Faunus hearing. I make a noise of disgust and stand up to leave. On the way out I hear Lisa start to speak again.

" _This unknown vigilante has already gained the nickname of_ The White Death _due to his appearance. All I want to know is what he felt when he killed those seven terrorists. Did he feel anger? Sorrow? Joy?_ " I bamf to the dorm to gather a few things that I had forgotten.

[Ten minutes later.]

'I'm Queen of the castle! I'm Queen of the castle!" I hear Nora proclaim. 'Food fight.' I think, looking inside and deciding to stay out. I start to think about my plan to raid another White Fang storehouse, one that apparently was being supplied with spare parts for Bullheads. That was likely where the shipping container was headed for transport. A container that large would need to be flown. And a facility that important would be heavily defended. I'd need backup. '*Angelic Choir* I know what I must do. TO THE CAVE!' *bamf*

I spent every free moment during the day preparing twenty of the hundred androids I'd acquired for combat. It was a tedious process; I had to recharge, repair, arm and reset each android individually. The final step was to set them to recognize me as their CO. That part was surprisingly easy. My next problem was transport.

'I can't take the MRAP, that'll blow my cover. Can't bamf them in, same thing would happen. I guess I'll need to borrow one. And I know just who to get it from.'

* _This will be the day we've waited for_ *

"Hey Ruby." I say, answering the phone.

"Can you come up to the room?" 'Oh yeah, they're going to fight Torchwick again today.'

"Not really. I'm quite busy with another project."

"Pleeeeassse."

"I'm sorry Ruby. It's really important that I get this done."  
"C'mon Kurt. This is important too!" She begs.

"Ruby, I've got to go." I say, hanging up. "Today I go to war. Nicht ein schlacht, ein rettungsaktion."

[Twenty minutes later.]

"I wasn't asking you a question." I say menacingly, standing in the cockpit of a Bullhead, my SMG in my hands, a silent threat. "You **will** fly me and my compatriots to your base in Forever Fall or I will kill you and find another pilot who can." I say darkly.

"A-alright. I'll get you there. Please don't kill me." The pilot begs, as the Bullhead starts to rise into the sky.

"If you don't give me a reason to kill you, I won't have to." I say.

[Half an hour later.]

"I'm coming in for a landing." The pilot tells me, still a bit terrified.

"Keep her steady at thirty. When I'm done down there set her down. I won't kill you." I tell the pilot, who visibly relaxes. "MAKE READY!" I bellow a command to my androids and they split into two groups, each facing one of the side doors, weapons held close to their bodies. I slam on the door release, opening the doors on either side of the Bullhead, hovering ten yards above the surface of the underground landing pad. "GO! GO! GO!" I shout. The androids jump to the ground and I follow, my SMG in my hands. I land on the surface of the landing pad, opening fire on the stunned mooks and technicians working on the small Bullhead fleet that the White Fang had managed to assemble. I tackle one technician, knocking him to the ground, I draw a handgun and press it to his temple. "Where is the communications center." I demand.

"I-it. Over that way." he says, pointing.

"Just lead me there. If you try to pull anything funny, you die." I say, pulling him up and holstering my pistol. I grab onto my SMG, attached to my body via a sling, and pull the charging handle back. "Go on." I say, "FORM UP!" I bellow and my androids form two columns on either side of me, having eliminated any resistance in the, rather large, hangar without sustaining debilitating damage. The technician leads me and my androids to the communications room, any resistance being easily swept aside by our guns.

Soon we reached the comms room. I order five androids to breach the room. A handful of moments later, I walk into the cleared room and find the PA system. I hook up a cheap scroll and play a song.

Metal music fills the air as the speakers blare a powerful tune.

* _Almost night, a crimson horizon, painting thousand lakes red_ * White Death by Sabaton plays over the, I assume, massive base.

I see a map of the facility on the wall. It is indeed quite large. "Thank you for your help." I say to the technician, before smashing him in the side of the head with the stock of my SMG. He falls to the floor unconscious.

"Fireteam Alpha: guard this room." I say, five androids moving to cover the entrance.

"Fireteams Bravo, Charlie and Delta, follow me." I say, tearing the map from the wall and leading the remaining androids to the prison. We storm towards the designated area of the map. Much too large for my liking. In a few minutes we had stormed into the prison.

Row after row of metal cells. Men and women locked inside metal cages.

And their jailers. Their jailers were armed with whips and swords and clubs and pistols: weapons designed to scare unarmed, terrified, weakened prisoners. I was none of those.

I dropped my SMG, letting it hang by its sling. I pulled my bolt-action rifle from its sling, placing the iron-sights over one guard.

*CRACK* 'Headshot.' "OPEN FIRE! SINGLE SHOTS! DON'T HIT THE PRISONERS!" I order my androids, as I drop jailers with almost mechanical precision.

In a few short minutes, the jailers were all neutralized and Fireteam Bravo was patrolling while fireteams Charlie and Delta released prisoners and guided them based on their skills: any capable of combat were directed to me while any incapable of combat were directed to gather in the prison mess hall.

"Alright. I say, my voice-distortion unit projecting my voice to the thirty or so freed prisoners. "How many of you have ever used a firearm?" I ask, causing about twenty of the freed prisoners to raise their hands. "Good. Now, how many have actually attended a combat school?" Eleven hands rose. "Do we have any Hunters present here?" I ask finally, seeing three hand rise. "Up here. Don't worry. I won't bite." I say, as a trio of bruised and beaten Hunters make their way to the front of the group. "Let's get you all some weapons." I say, motioning for them to follow. "Bravo! Charlie! Guard the others! Delta! Form up on me!" I order, the various Fireteams complying.

"You." I say, pointing to one of the Hunters, who looked older than the others. 'Please let this be him.' "What is your name."

"Qrow." 'Thank Murphy.'

"Qrow. I've heard of you." I say, "DELTA! Show them to the armory!" I order, gesturing to the other freed prisoners. "Qrow, we will be heading to the comms room. I have a couple of messages to send." I say, leading the way.

"How old are you?" Qrow asks.

"Soon. I just need to make a call." I say, walking up to the comms center door. "ALPHA! Incoming with friendly!" I say, pressing the door open button. The door slides open, revealing the dismantled forms of Fireteam Alpha and a rather large Faunus. "Dammit Murphy." I say, blocking the swing of his sword with my rifle.

"Just who do you think you are kid?" The Faunus, probably a bear Faunus, taunts.

"Isn't it obvious?" I retort, teleporting onto his shoulders and grabbing either side of his head.

*bamf* "I AM THE WHITE DEATH!" I shout, as we appear about a thousand or two feet straight up. *bamf* I reappear in the comms center.  
"What did you do to him?" Qrow asks.

"I let gravity work its wonder. He should be hitting the ground soon." I say, walking over to a terminal and picking up the throw-away scroll. I press a few buttons and wait.

"Hello, this is the Vale News Network, how may I help you?" A receptionist answers.

"I would like to talk to Lisa Lavender." I say curtly, my distortion unit still active.

"Ummm… Alright. Are you okay sir? You sound a bit off."

"I'm perfectly fine miss." I say.

"Alright. Here she is sir." I hear the receptionist say.

"Hello, this is Lisa Lavender. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

"The White Death m'am."  
"Oh."  
"I seem to remember you asking a question of me earlier today. Would you care to repeat it?"

"Alright. What did you feel when you killed those seven terrorists?"

"To be entirely honest m'am, I felt recoil." I say, hanging up.

"Now that that has been take care of, would you mind using one of the holo-terminals to call up Ozpin?"

"Ozpin sent a _child_ to rescue us? Just when I thought it couldn't get any more embarrassing." he says, a hint of jest in his voice.

"He didn't send me. I just have a message."

"Alright then, here he is."

On the holo-screen an image of Ozpin from the waist up appears. The camera seems to be on his desk, aimed at him.  
"Hello Headmaster." I say, causing him to raise an eyebrow.  
"Am I speaking to the White Death?" He asks. I nod. "What may I do for you today?"

"Actually, what may I do for **you** Headmaster? Or, more specifically, what may I do for **you** General Ironwood?" I say. the camera quickly turns to show a confused/angry General Ironwood.

"How did you know I was here?" He growls.

"Are you capable of tracing this signal?" I ask.

"Of course."

"Then please do so. I have recently assaulted a White Fang base in Forever Fall. I was able to liberate prisoners being held in the facility, among whom are three members of the Hunter team that was recently declared MIA. With me at the moment is my Uncle Qrow." I say, earning a strange look from Ironwood.

"What?" Qrow asks. "You're not Ruby. And you're definitely not Yang? Did my brother somehow get another kid while I was gone?"

"What, he never told you?" I say, removing my beret and balaclava and turning off my voice-distorter. "My name's Kurt." I say, staring him in the eye with a smirk, before turning back to the screen to see Ozpin, Ironwood, and Goodwitch staring at me. "Now, if you wouldn't mind sending in some troops or Hunters to secure this facility, the White fang should have organiz-" *BOOOM!* "Dammit. Thought I'd at least be able to finish my sentence." I say, replacing my facial coverings and reactivating my distorter. I pull my SMG from its sling and toss it to Qrow, along with a few extra magazines.

"Oh, and do try to keep my identity a secret." I say, pulling a bayonet from my trenchcoat and attaching the eighteen-inch long triangular blade to the end of my rifle. "Let's get to the mess hall, we can escort the noncombatants to the armory. You should be able to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive." I say, working the bolt, ejecting a spent cartridge and then feeding a clip into the magazine and pushing the bolt forward.

We quickly make our way down the corridors, meeting no White Fang mooks.

"Where are they?" I wonder, as we near the mess hall.

A burst of AR fire answers my question, a mook having spotted me and my uncle.

I rise my rifle, but before I can fire a shot, Qrow brings up his borrowed SMG and drops the terrorist.

"Thanks, let's keep moving." I say, "You should take point." I say.

"You scared?" Qrow jests.

"You're the one with a PDW." I say. "I'm keeping Sasha." I say, emphasizing with the rifle.

"Sahsa? People name their weapons, but that's a bit much."

"I'll explain some other time." I say, as we enter the mess hall, passing Fireteam Bravo, their weapons held steady.

"Where'd you get the androids? Even these older models are expensive."

"I borrowed some from the Fang." I say.

"Good job kid."

"BRAVO! CHARLIE! ROUND UP THE CIVVIES! WE'RE TAKING THEM TO THE ARMORY!" I bellow, motioning out the door we entered through. "BRAVO TAKES POINT!"

We head out to the armory, Bravo leading the group and Charlie pulling rearguard. All of a sudden, the lights fall dark, a split second later, my Faunus sight reasserts itself and my vision sharpens. I see mooks creeping down a side-passage towards us.

"BRAVO! FORM UP!" I bellow, removing my bayonet and slinging Sasha. I draw a sword from a scabbard concealed by my trenchcoat and flourish it towards the enemy. "FIX BAYONETS!" I bellow, as my androids draw their eight-inch bayonets from hip-mounted sheathes. They hold their rifles in a firing line with me at the far left. "OPEN FIRE!" I order, as the White Fang abandon all pretenses of stealth and charge us, firing as they run. The androids respond with well-aimed bursts, scything down the onrushing tide, seeming to grow with every second. "QROW!" I bellow, and he rushes to me. "Lead them to the armory. Fireteam Charlie will cover you. Get them there and we'll cover your retreat." I say, drawing a .40 caliber pistol.

"Try not to get yourself killed." Qrow cautions.

"I won't." I say with a smirk that is hidden by my balaclava. "CHARGE!" I shout, leading Bravo in a charge, my sword gripped tightly in my hand as I fired the occasional round into a White Fang mook. We entered the fray, hacking slashing and shooting. It was not exactly pleasant. Stabbing a person at close range is quite different from shooting a man at range. Blood splattered from aura-infused sword strikes and slashes and close-range gunshot wounds. The impact of our charge shatters the enemy. After a few moments of watching comrades getting hacked apart, the survivors break and flee for their lives.

"Bravo! Pull back! To the armory!" I order Fireteam Bravo, all five miraculously intact, albeit badly damaged. But good enough to survive the day. We arrive at the armory, I happily note that both the freed prisoners and my androids appear to be in (mostly) working order.

I make my way to Qrow.

"My androids and I will be leaving momentarily. But I do wish to know what the White Fang was doing with you guys."

"We were being used as slave labor. Dust mining." He says, no small amount of anger present in his voice. I could tell he was more angry over the treatment of the civvies than he was the treatment of himself and the hunters that he had joined.

"Well then. Reinforcements should be here soon. If you wouldn't mind returning my weapon." I say, prompting him to turn over the weapon and extra magazines, which I stow in my trenchcoat. "ALL UNITS! FORM UP!" I bellow, leading my force to the comms center to collect the parts of Fireteam Alpha. Once the androids have collected the important parts and weapons, I bamf us back to The Cave.

"Toss the parts in a pile and standby for repair and rearming." I order my androids. As they follow my orders, I walk over to one of the shipping containers. I walk inside and close the door. Next I take off my White Death outfit, stowing it and the associated weapons in a large white container. I redress myself in a blue tee-shirt and black cargo pants and walk out, seeing my teammates standing there in various states of shock and confusion. I freeze up for a second.

"So, how was your day?" I ask.

"Wha-who?" Ruby mumbles.

"Before any of you ask, yes, I am the White Death."

"Why?" Blake asks.

"Because I decided to fight the White Fang. And I also get some loot as a bonus." I say, gesturing to the shipping containers and MRAP, which was joined by another skeletal vehicle-construct.

"My last few raids were a bit more… destructive in nature. After I found the shipping container I realized that that was just one shipment out of many. I decided that it was my duty to free them. I looked through information I'd gathered from my raids and found out that the White fang had a secret base in Forever Fall. After I heard that Qrow and his team went missing in that area, I decided to try and find them. I raided another storehouse, stole a bullhead, and launched an assault on the base. Once I'd found and freed the prisoners, I called in support from Ozpin, who sent in some Hunter teams and Atlisian troops that should have the facility secured by now." I monologue, taking a breath. "Qrow's alright, by the way. He seems like a nice guy." I say offhandedly, heading over to the shipping containers that I was currently using to store my androids. "We can talk more about all of this tomorrow, but I have some maintenance to perform on my little army." I say, opening one of the containers and directing Fireteam Bravo to a set of large slab-tables for repair.


	28. Chapter 28

Ch28: Dance. *groan*

(Tuesday, Y+1, M+4, D+14)

"So, what do you want to know about The White Death?" I ask my teammates, all sitting or laying in/on their beds. They'd been waiting for most of the day for me to actually start talking about what I'd been doing.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ruby asks, I can tell she feels a bit hurt.

"Because the locations of my targets were originally provided by somebody within the organization. A few days ago, he managed to escape to another kingdom. I didn't want anyone here to accidentally spread the name around. It's standard safety protocol." I respond.

"Who was it?" Weiss asks.

"You wouldn't know him. Blake does, though. I actually met her in his shop." I chuckle.

"Tukson?" Blake sounded a bit surprised. "Tukson helped you?"

"Yep. I gave him my number and told him to call if he needs anything. He's in an undisclosed kingdom now." I say.

"He was lucky to get out. The White fang doesn't take too kindly to deserters. Especially after I left." Blake says.

'You don't know the half of it.' I think, remembering the shopkeep's fate in the show. "Next question?"

"Why did you kill them?" Weiss asks.

"They were trying to kill me. It was only fair." I say flatly.

"No, the first time. The one with the cont-"

"Where I'm from, there are things that we call crimes against humanity. There were places, concentration camps, that were so horrible that they managed to horrify even hardened veterans. Men who had managed to survive a war lasting about five years. The… contents… of that container reminded me of the photos and videos of those camps shortly after they were liberated. There are few things that I consider to be pure evil. Those camps are one of them. Those camps were crimes against humanity. I guess I responded in the same way some of those soldiers must have. I punished those responsible." I say. "Next question."

"Why'd you choose white?" Yang asks.

"What?"  
I ask, a little confused.

"Why'd you use white as your color? I mean, it's not like you're the only person in Vale who uses Blue and Black."

"Because of The White Death. Well, the original one." I say, confusion playing across the girls' faces.

"Earth thing?" Yang asks, using my usual term for something from my first home.

"Yep. Simo Häyä, AKA The White Death, was the single deadliest individual to ever exist. For a bit of backstory, Simo was from a small, cold country called Finland. Finland was under attack from a much larger and more powerful country called Russia. During the war, Simo was called up into service in the Finnish army to help defend his country. He took a bolt-action rifle, some food and some ammunition and hunted Russians. In three months time Simo had managed to become the single most feared individual in the Finnish army. He was an unstoppable machine of death. He managed to kill around seven hundred or so Russian soldiers; five hundred with a scopeless rifle and two hundred with a submachine gun. Eventually he ended up being shot in the jaw with an exploding bullet. He survived, killed the sniper who shot him and managed to drag himself to safety. He fell unconscious for and woke up a few weeks later. On the exact day he woke up the Russian army left Finland. Simo left the army and returned to being a farmer. If anyone asked him about his service he would say that he did what he was told to do as best as he could." I monologue, leaving the girls stunned. "Honestly I was a bit honored when they started calling me The White Death."

"You based yourself on a murderer?" Weiss asks.

"He was no murderer. He was a soldier fighting for his country. Few things can motivate a person more. He did what he was asked to do and he did it well. next question."

"Where did you get those androids?" Ruby asks.

"I stole 'em." Everyone gives me dirty looks. "From the White Fang." The looks go away, mostly. "What did you expect me to do? Give up the chance to lead a small army?" I ask with a smirk. "Anyway, what were you girls doing last night? I seem to remember reports of a large mech stampeding across downtown Vale." I say with a slight smirk.

"Well… We also decided to take on the White Fang." Yang says.

"Just without all of the killing." Weiss says pointedly.

"As I said before. It was only fair." I say coldly. "But, as you were saying Yang?" I quickly shift back onto topic.

"Well Ruby decided that we should figure out what the White Fang is doing in Vale with all of the Dust robberies. We were talking about it and then Sun showed up at the window with his friend Neptune. They wanted to help us out so we let them come along. Me and Neptune went to ask Junior about what was going on." Yang recounts.

"Weiss and I went to the CCT and found Penny, that girl we met at the docks. Turns out she's kindof a synthetic person. She even has an Aura. It's reaalllyyy cool." My little sister says.

"While Ruby was off running around with Penny I went to the CCT and found out that Vale has been the prime target for Dust robberies over the past few months." Weiss explains.

"Sun and I went to a White Fang rally to try and get information. We found out that there is a White Fang base in the southeast and that Torchwick and his employer have stolen a number of Atlesian Paladin combat mech suits."

"The prisoners in the Emerald Forest base were being forced to mine Dust. It seems that with all of the stolen weapons and Dust, we have a war brewing." I say, serious. "Fortunately for us, I've got a small army in the works."

"Huh?" Ruby questions.

"My androids. I have ninety-two. used to be ninety-seven but I lost five in the raid." I say. "Their remains will be put to good use." I eulogize. 'I'm eulogizing frakking robots. Great, what's next? Spent shell casings!?'

"Awww." Ruby says, sounding sympathetic.

"Anyway, I'm tired." I say, walking to my room. "You have no idea how tiring it is to arm and equip forty-five androids. And work on something else. G'night."

(Thursday, Y+1, M+4, D+16)

"Well, that was boring." I say to nobody, having watched the not even ten-second fight between Mercury and Pyrrha. 'He wasn't even trying, but still.'

The bell rings and I get up and walk to the dorms, on the way, I spot the dynamic duo, the thief and the butcher, Emerald and Mercury.

"Well hello. Aren't you two from one of the Mystral teams?" I ask conversationally, my helmet held in my right hand.

"Yes." Emerald says.

"Well then, let me welcome you to Beacon academy. Have a nice day and please do try to choose your opponents a bit more carefully Mister Black." I say, putting on hy helmet with a reassuring click-hiss. I walk away whistling the harmonica tune of Piano Man (by Billy Joel).

"Who was that guy?" I hear Mercury ask as I walk away, thanks to my Faunus hearing and my helmet's enhanced sensory systems (currently just vision and hearing).

"I have no idea." Emerald responds.

I smile under my helmet, heading in the general direction of The Cave. 'Just a few finishing touches. Like AC. Definitely needs AC. And cupholders, lots of 'em.'

[some time later]

*Assorted construction noises*

[some more time later]

"HAHAHA! I'm DONE!" I shout, standing before my creation. "Time to go to the dorm. I'm tired." I say to nobody in particular.

*bamf*

*screaming*

"It's been months Weiss. Why do you keep screaming whenever I bamf into the room?"

"Because I never know when it's going to happen!" She almost shouts.

I sigh and walk into my room, noticing the absence of the other faunus on the team.

"Where's Blake?"

"She's been working late trying to find leads on Torchwick and the White Fang." Weiss says. "She hasn't been sleeping much lately."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. Maybe that'll help a bit." I say, closing my door.

(Saturday, Y+1, M+4, D+18)

"Blake. It's been a few hours, don't you think you should take a break?" I say, sitting next to her as she does Murphy knows what on a computer.

"I can't take a break. Not while Torchwick is out there doing who knows what!"

"And you can't figure out what he's doing if you're too tired to think straight." I reason.

"But lives are at stake! I can't stop!"

"I'm not asking you to stop. I'm telling you to take a break. If you don't get some sleep soon I'll be forced to make sure you get some. If I need to, I'll even get the nurses to tie you down and give you a sedative. This kind of thing isn't healthy."  
"But you stay up late all the time!"

"Yes, and I always make sure I get some quality sleep. Which you aren't doing. At least go to the dance. Unwind a bit."

"Why should I go to the dance? You aren't?"

"I changed my mind. Just yesterday evening, in fact."

"I thought you didn't like fancy clothes."

"I found a workaround. If you want to see what it is, you'll have to be there." I say, standing up and walking away. 'Wonder how the dance planning is going?'

*bamf*

"Hey Kurt." Yang says, as I step from my signature cloud of purple-black smoke. "You get Blake to slow down any?" She hefts a very large speaker tower.  
"I'm not sure. I ended up threatening to bring in the nurses to sedate her if she didn't get some sleep." I say, sighing. "Maybe you could talk to her." I say, opening the ballroom door to let her in.

"Thanks." she says, stepping through. I see Weiss showing Ruby two pieces of tablecloth that look almost exactly the same.

"How're you doin' Ruby?" I sit down next to her, placing my helmet on the table. "Got a dress yet?"

"No. It doesn't matter." she mopes.

"What doesn't matter?"

"The dance, the dress, everything. If Blake doesn't go then what good is it?"

"I'm sure she'll come around Ruby. I mean, if I'm willing to go to some fancy schmancy dance, then she should be willing too."

"Wait, you're going to the dance?" Ruby says, a smile starting to form on her face.

"Yep. And just wait 'till you see what I'm wearing." I say with a smirk.

Weiss and Yang argue in the background over fog machines.

"Your dance is going to have fog machines?" I hear from the entrance.

"We were thinking about it…" Weiss says in a very un-Weiss manner.

"That's pretty cool." Neptune says.

"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" Sun says, walking in.

I cough to get his attention.

"Hey Kurt." He says. "You going to the dance?"

"Yep. Got an outfit and everything." I respond, twirling one of the multiple knives I keep on my person between my fingers. "What're you guys wearing?"

"Ummm… this?" Sun gestures to his, quite informal, choice of clothing.

"Ignore him, for he knows not what he says." Neptune says, interposing himself between Sun and the rest of us.

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo, it's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place." Sun defends himself.

"You don't say." I deadpan. "Well, I'll be in my hangar. DO SVIDANIYA COMRADES!" *Bamf*

"Time to add the cupholders. Many cupholders." I say to myself, walking over to my near-completed project.

(Sunday, Y+1, M+4, D+19)

"How do you like it?" I say, slowly turning around in front of my sisters.

"It's definitely distinctive." Yang says, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that most of the other guys would wear the same plain suit." I gesture to pretty much every other guy. "So I figured that I'd get a commissarial uniform. And I also figured that, while I'm at it, I might as well make it combat capable. So I added various armored plates and bullet/pointy object-resistant fabrics along with the fact that I currently have both a high caliber pistol and a literal chainsaw-sword strapped to my waist. And my usual greatcoat. But fancier." I list off the various aspects of my uniform. "Oh yeah, and the commissar cap." I say, pointing to the black and red cap, adorned with a winged skull forged from brass. "The hat completes the whole ensemble."

"Sure it does." Yang says.

"You two just don't understand my fashion sense." I reply  
"Whatever."

"I think it looks nice."

"Thanks Ruby. I knew you'd have my back." I say.

[10 minutes later.]

'Well, look who has decided to show up. The good General himself.' I think, seeing Ironwood enter the ballroom, a small building near the CCT that Beacon Academy had reserved for the occasion.

The General dances with Glynda for a while as I stand near the punch-bowl and chat with some of the other students, some wanting to hire me to improve their weapons, some just wanting to chat, and most curious about what the heck I'm wearing.

"So General, how's the dance?" I ask, steeping up next to him.

"What are you supposed to be wearing?" He responds a bit rudely.

"Something that isn't being worn by pretty much every other boy in the room." I reply. "It's iconic."  
"What are you doing here?"

"I'm a student. It's not obvious?"

"No, why are you standing there?" He asks, a bit more irritated.

"Name's Kurt Wagner. Ringing any bells yet?"

"Oh. How did you know I was here when you called Ozpin?" He asks.

"I have observational skills and a brain. The small fleet you brought with you wasn't exactly subtle either. Granted, I'm not exactly the subtle kind of guy myself." I say, gesturing to the weapons at my hips.

"Why are you carrying those?"

"I'm training to be a Huntsman, time spent running to get your weapons can get people killed." I say. "You're a soldier, I'd have put money on you at least having a knife on your person."

"You… aren't like the others. Are you?" The general questions.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You act more like a soldier than a hunter. And you seem… different."

"Well, I'm not exactly the definition of normal. Have a nice dance General." I say, walking off in time to spot Mercury and Emerald walking in.

I spent a while chatting with some of the other students and my teammates, before eventually ending up next to Ozpin at the edge of the ballroom.

"Are you enjoying yourself Kurt?" He asks, taking a sip from his ever-present coffee cup.

"Not really much for dancing. I'd rather be working in the hangar, to be honest. But Ruby wanted me to be here, so here I am." I say, a bit of a smirk on my face.

"Well, you can't spend all of your life working on your various projects."

"I know, it's jus-" I hear the faint yet distinctive noises of scythfle fire and Dust explosions. "I'll be a few minutes." I say, my head snapping around to face the direction I heard the noise coming from and rushing to the door in the back of the room, the one that leads to a back passage to the CCT. I stealthily open the door and slip through, drawing my weapons, the chainsword revving slightly. I move through the door at the end of the short hall and spot Cinder.

"Hello miss." I say, bringing my chainsword into a guard stance. "You wouldn't happen to have met a little girl in a red dress, would you?" I ask humorously.

In response she creates a pair of black glass-like swords and launches herself at me. I block her with my chainsword and pistol and shove her back, cracking off three rounds of 25mm HE pistol fire. When Cinder tries to block them with her swords, the rounds explode and shatter her weapons.

"Can't pull the same trick twice." I chide, emptying the five-round magazine at her.

She took a round in the chest and staggered backwards, causing the other to miss. she then launched a small barrage of Dust crystals.

I jumped back to avoid it and when the dust had cleared, she was headmaster, Goodwitch and a few students rushed up to investigate.

"Do you remember that woman we fought before the beginning of last semester Goodwitch? The one that was on the Bullhead with Torchwick?" I ask, reloading my pistol and sheathing my weapons.

"Yes." she says, a bit of confusion in her voice.

"I think she's back. I heard gunfire and Dust explosions coming from over there." I point towards the CCT. "Namely Crescent Rose. I headed out to investigate and came across a woman dressed in a black stealth suit and a mask. She fought with black-glass weapons that appeared out of midair, some sort of dust magic. She relies heavily on Dust magic, it appears. Fire Dust I'm not mistaken." I report to the headmaster and Goodwitch.

"Well then. Enjoy the rest of the night, you've given us a lot to think about." Ozpin tells me as I head off towards Beacon and The Cave. 'Time to prep my gear. Missions start tomorrow. I'll need to make sure my troops are ready.'


	29. Chapter 29

Ch29: The Glenn

(Monday, Y+1, M+4, D+20)

"So, what're you doing Ruby?" I ask, as we stand in front of the elevator leading to Ozpin's office.

"Ozpin wanted to talk to me about what happened last night." She answers. "Did he want to talk to you too?" She asks as the elevator door opens with a *ding*.

"Nope." I say, stepping inside. As soon as the doors close I rapidly press every button on the panel. "See ya." I say, as Ruby looks at me with a shocked expression.

*Bamf* *HIGH PITCHED SCREAM*

"AAAUUUGHHHH! THAT HURT!" I shout, hands clamped over my ears. "HOW DO I KEEP ENDING UP RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" I say, the pain starting to subside.

*Mwapwab waah dawr jaw newr*

"WHAT?"  
"Awer ysur aerl rifghter Kehrrt."

I shake my head back and forth a few times. "What?"

"Are you alright Kurt?" Weiss asks, a bit concerned.

"I think so. If I'm not mistaken, that was Karma." I say, stumbling to a chair and steadying myself.

"What?" Yang and Weiss ask simultaneously, as Blake steps out of the shared bathroom.

"Ruby was on the elevator to Ozpin's office and somebody may or may not have pressed every single button on the panel." I say, a small smirk on my face.

* _What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing?_ * It's Still Rock And Roll to Me (By Billy Joel) starts to play from my scroll. I pull it from a pouch and answer the call.

"Hey Dad. Need something? Oh, alright. Be there in a sec." I end the call and put my scroll back in one of my pouches. "Dad wants me to pick up a package. I'll be back." I say without preamble. *Bamf*

"Hey Dad, how's life been treating you?" I ask, stepping from my usual cloud of smoke in the middle of my room to see Dad standing in the doorway holding a small cylindrical package.

"A damn sight better than it's been treating ME!" A voice calls from the family room.

"What's Qrow doing here? Doesn't he have a place of his own?" I ask Dad, recognizing the voice.

"He's been recovering from his time in Forever Fall. I'm keeping an eye on his healing. Physical and mental. We're going out on a short mission tomorrow. Nothing too big, but we'll be out for a while. I need you to take this to your dorm." He says, handing me the deceptively heavy package.

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. I'll be on my way. See ya!" *Bamf*

"I'm baaacccckkkk!" I say, appearing in my extension of the dorm, the door open to the rest as usual.

"TRAITOR!" I hear my little sister shout, as she tackles me in a red blur.

"Nice to see you too Ruby." I say, picking myself up off the floor and picking up my package. "Dad gave this to me. He said that he'd be out on a small mission with Qrow for a while and he wants us to take care of this." I say tossing the package to Yang, keeping it out of the grasp of Ruby's flailing arms.

"What's inside this thing? Bricks?" Yang asks, catching the surprisingly heavy package.

"I dunno, just open it." I shrug.  
Yang opens the package and out falls a strange black and white fluffy shape that wiggles around a bit before returning to the shape of-

"ZWEI!" Ruby shouts, picking up the dog and almost dancing around the room with him. Blake jumps up onto Ruby's bed in fear of the small bundle of joy.

"Your dad gave you a dog in a mail package?" Blake asks.

"He does stuff like this a lot, you just learn to go along with it." I say with a shrug.

"Your dad or your dog?" Blake questions.

"There's still something in here." Yang says, shaking the container, causing a small pile of dog food cans to fall out, followed by a can opener.

"Why am I not surprised. There goes physics." I say, basking in the sheer implausibility of the package's contents.

" _Would all first year students please report to the amphitheater?_ " Goodwitch asks over the intercom as Weiss goes all goo-goo ga-ga over Zwei. 'It's so… unnatural.'

"C'mon, Zwei'll be here when we get back." I say to the others, leading the way to the amphitheater.

We reach the amphitheater to listen to Ozpin talk about The Great War and the naming conventions of Remnant. After the speech we enter a room filled with hologram screens displaying various missions we can take.

"It's perfect, all we have to do is shadow a huntsman working in the southeast!" Ruby says happily.

"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!" Yang says.

"Let's check search and destroy." Weiss recommends.

"That sounds fun." I say honestly, idly fiddling with one of my knives.

"Alright then, quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out!"

"Quadrant 5 is Mountain Glenn, urban terrain. I hate urban combat, too many places for hostiles to hide." I say. "We'll need to remember to watch our corners."

"What?" Weiss asks, confused.

"Nevermind."

Ruby types in the team name. It gets denied. Apparently first years aren't allowed to do these kinds of things.

"Wonderful." Weiss and I both deadpan simultaneously.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asks.

"We mail ourselves there!" Ruby says, causing me to snicker a bit.

"Well, that's one option." Ozpin says, walking over to us. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that you five will make your way there no matter what job you choose." He says in a slightly conspiratorial manner.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Ruby says.

" I'm still curious how you all found yourself at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a hideout in the southeast. I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago. And I would like to know what happened in a certain White Fang outpost in Forever Fall earlier this semester." Ozpin says, looking to each of us in turn.

"Umm… well…" Ruby says, a bit embarrassed. 'You foolish fool! He's giving us a break!'

"I doubt I'll ever find the answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" Ozpin presses a few things on his teacher-issue scroll-pad and the words _Mission Accepted: Team RWWBY_ appear on the hologram.

"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor." Ruby says.

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck." Ozpin tells us.

We leave the auditorium and make our way to the landing pads, through the crowds of students on their way to their missions. On the way to landing pad A-10, We spot team CFVY, Blake walks over to speak with Velvet as the rest of us move onwards, meeting Sun, Neptune, and JNPR on the way.

'Aaaaaannnd there's Oobleck.' I think, seeing the girls' faces take on expressions of pure disbelief and no small amount of terror.

"Why hello girls and Kurt! Who's ready to fight for their lives?" The good doctor asks in a highly encouraging manner.

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asks a bit hesitantly. 'Doctor.'

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous waste land and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And…" He says in his usual rapid fire speech, zooming up to Weiss. "It's **Doctor** Oobleck. I didn't get the PhD for fun, thank you very much!" He says, before promptly covering about half a football field's worth of space in under a second. 'What the hell is he on and where can I get some.' "Come now children! According to my schedule we are already three minutes behind… Schedule!" He says, zipping another half a football field.

"Well, alright then!" Ruby starts off trying to stay positive."Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." She says, finally succumbing to despair.

" **Save the world!?** " Nora shouts from behind us. We turn to see her and her teammates heading towards us. "You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt… sad! Maybe a little hungry?" She says dramatically, before turning to her partner, "That last one isn't your fault, though, **Ren**..." He faces away from her, arms crossed.

"Sounds exciting. Where ya going?" Jaune asks.

"Quadrant Five. Extermination mission." I say, picking Blue Death from its sling and slapping a magazine from my web gear home. On my person were Blue Death on a sling, Marxman in a holster on my left hip, Anne and Pearl in their sheathes on my back, six conc-frags and two flashbangs in my greatcoat, my collection of knives and as much ammo as I could possibly carry. In other words; 'I am frakking ready.'

"Hey! So are we!" Nora says.

"Nora and Ren wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village." Pyrrha explains.

"We set off tomorrow." Ren elaborates.

"Then you can party with us tonight!" Neptune says, walking up to us with his partner Sun. "We're shadowing a crime-specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." He says, while Jaune looks on in awe of the Junior Badge.

"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know… normal." Sun explains.

"Well-" Ruby starts before being cut off.

" _Four_ minutes children!" Oobleck calls out, we look at each other and with a few goodbyes, we make our way to Oobleck's Bullhead.

I step aboard with my team and nod to Oobleck.

"Hey Doc, you ready to fight?" I ask, grabbing onto one of the grab-bars on the ceiling of the craft.

"I assure you Kurt, I am more than ready for a tussle." He says.

"Like the mushrooms?" Ruby asks, confused.

"Those are truffles." Blake leans in and corrects our dear leader.

"Like the sprout?" Ruby asks again, still confused.

"Those are brussels." Yang says, leaning in as well.

*snap-hiss* I place my helmet on, hearing the comforting sound of it attaching to my bodysuit and forming an airtight seal. I press a few things on my scroll, turning on my helmet's internal speakers.

* _Revvin' up your engine, listen to her howlin' roar, metal under tension, beggin' you to touch and go*_ Danger Zone (By Kenny Loggins) Plays on my internal speakers, as we fly over the city.

"Hey Kurt, what're you-" Yang asks, before I cut her off.

" _HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZOOONE! RIDE INTO THE DAAANGER ZOONE! Headin into twilight, spreadin out her wings tonight, she got you jumpin off the deck, and shovin into overdrive! HIGHWAY TOO THE DAAANGEER ZOOONE! I'LL TAKE YOU RIGHT INTO THE DAANGER ZOONE!_ " I sing aloud, startling the girls, and causing a subtle look of confusion to play across Oobleck's face.

"Well then. Students! It appears that we have arrived!" Oobleck says, as the bullhead hovers over an open area and we leap out, weapons at the ready. As we exit the Bullhead, I notice that Ruby still is wearing her backpack which, if my memory serves, holds our fluffy dog of doom.

"Children! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses and Hunter has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?" He says rapidly, before zipping right in front of Ruby, startling her. "Ruby! I thought I had told you to leave all of your bags at school." He says to our leader.

"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet… so I didn't." She points out.

"She's not wrong." The good doctor says to himself. "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it upon our return."

"But I, well uh…" Ruby mumbles.

"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with…" Oobleck trails off as Zwei pops his head from Ruby's pack, surprising all but me.

"Get back in the bag." Ruby whispers to our dog.

"We're here to investigate an…" Oobleck starts talking and I just tune it out, keeping watch over the area, as nobody else is bothering to do so. I check my HUD, seeing Oobleck spinning around holding our dog at arm's length. 'Not even gonna questi- Grimm!' I bring up Blue Death and center my reticle on the thing's head. "Grimm." The Doctor and I both say simultaneously.

"What?" The girls ask.

"Grimm. A creature of grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." Oobleck says, causing the girls to finally get their shit together and aim their weapons at the beast, a lone Beowulf wandering around almost aimlessly in the street. I tune out the rest of what Oobleck says, running through a mental last-second equipment check. 'Guns? Ja. Knives? Ja. Round in the chamber?' I think, as the grimm's pack appears and soon notice us.

*CRACK* 'Ja.' The Beowulf falls over, half of its head blown off by my round. 'I love these new rounds.' I think, having recently switched propellants from one using whatever Remnant used for propellant mixed with some Blast Dust to something using a mixture that was effectively gunpowder, mixed with a relatively high concentration of Blast Dust. In other words, I had effectively doubled my weapon's killing power.

Next I bamf'd up onto the side of a tall and ruined skyscraper, clinging to it with the help of the retractable spikes that I had recently installed into my gloves and boots. I held on with my right hand and held my AR in my left, picking off various Grimm pretty much at random. 'Boom. Headshot.'

*Bamf* "That wasn't so hard." I say, switching out a nearly dry magazine for a full one, getting ready for a long day.

" Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck asks.

The rest of the day is a blur of Grimm-fighting. We shot, bashed, stabbed and slashed our way through an annoying amount of Beowolves, while Oobleck made himself busy doing Murphy-knows-what. We cleared at least half a dozen grid squares, each occupying one square mile of Mountain Glenn.

"So. Mister Wagner, why do you wish to become a hunter?" Oobleck asks me.

"Because I respect those willing to lay down their lives for others." I say, as we continue to search the area. "I do this because I could never live with myself if I didn't." I say solemnly, holding Blue Death in my left hand and pointing it skywards. "And if I can have some fun along the way, all's the better." I smirk under my helmet.

[90 minutes and one grid square later]

"Alright, this building looks like a good place to stay for the night. What do you think Doc?" I ask, standing in front of a ruined building. It was tall, relatively intact, and offered clear fields of fire.

"It seems well situated, a good place to set up camp. Please do make sure there are no more of those… creatures inside. Your leader and I will be securing the perimeter." He says, heading off with Ruby and Zwei in tow.

I place my hand to the side of the building and concentrate for a second. Next I sling Blue Death over my shoulder and unholster Marxman. My other teammates look at me strangely as I take a stance in front of the door.

"What are you-" Weiss asks.

"Shhhh." I cut her off, before kicking the door down and shooting the adolescent Beowolf within in the face.

"Did you know it was there?" Blake, always the perceptive one, asks me.

"Yep." I say, walking inside, my pistol still at the ready in case my check of the building's contents hadn't been entirely correct. "As far as I can tell, my semblance can let me 'see' what's inside something. It's probably got something to do with my teleportation; I've never really tried it but I can probably, with a little practice, take certain parts of something when I teleport. For example I could teleport touching a box and take it but not the contents." I say, checking the building with my teammates in tow. "Or I could be fighting someone and take their weapon, although if I'm not careful I might take part of them with me." I say, causing the girls to shiver a bit. "So yeah, I touched the side of the building and and sensed the Beowolf, along with everything else in the building." I walk to a corner of the room and setting up my hammock. "I'll take care of the fire." I say after setting up the hammock.

I sit next to my hammock, consolidating and reloading my dry magazines and checking my weapons and armor. The girls stand around talking about what they'd said to Oobleck.

"What did you tell him Kurt?" Weiss asks.

"I told him that it was my duty. That if I didn't become a Hunter, I'd never be able to live with myself." I say solemnly, taking off my helmet and staring into the t-slit visor. "I want to die knowing I did something worth doing." I hear something. "They're back." I say flatly, as I hear the Doctor, Ruby, and Zwei enter the building.

"Ooh, fire! Waaarrmm." Ruby exclaims, warming herself.

"Ah, yes! A textbook campfire! Well done! Who will be taking first watch?" Oobleck asks quickly.

"Yo." Ruby says, raising her hand while still sitting by the fire. I chuckle a bit and climb into the hammock, once more placing my helmet on my head and hearing the reassuring snap-hiss of an airtight seal forming.

(Tuesday, Y+1, M+4, D+21)

[A few hours later]

"Kurt! Wake up!" I hear, as I feel my body being shoved.

"What went wrong?" I ask, bolting upright and grabbing Blue Death and flipping the safety off.

"Ruby's missing!" Yang says, cocking Ember-Cecilia.

"Zwei, where's Ruby?" I ask our dog, who is looking at me with a concerned expression.

*Arf!* He barks and quickly leads us to a massive hole in the street, which leads to a large cavern. 'So that's Mountain Glenn.'  
"It looks like there's an entry door right there." I say, pointing to a metal door at street level. "You five take that door, I'll be a bit more… direct…" I say, snapping the C-100 to Blue Death's bayonet clips.  
"Wait, you can't go in alone! What if something happens?" Yang asks, a bit scared.

"I can teleport. I'd be more worried about the poor bastards who have no idea what's going to happen." I say coldly. "Cry _havoc_ ," I say, pulling back Blue Death's bolt, readying the weapon for action, "and let slip the dogs of WAR!"


	30. Chapter 30

Ch30: The Breach

(Not even a second after the end of Ch29)

I leap into the crater and landing on a roof within. I kick down a metal door nearby with an Aura-enhanced kick and see two White Fang grunts inside. "Death has come once more." I say, and Blue Death barks twice. 'On to the next room then.' I think, before my faunus-hearing picks up a strange yet familiar noise.

'That's definitely cursing. Not in any language from… Holy shit. It's Russian, an honest-to-Murphy Russian. I'm not alone.'

"HELP'S ON THE WAY IVAN!" I bellow, charging after the sound, effortlessly dropping any resistance on my way through the ruined office building the Fang had set up in.

I come across a solid-looking metal door at the end of a long hallway, behind which is an extremely pissed-off Russian. 'Now is the time for extreme subtlety and stealth.' I think, walking a few meters down the hallway I am in and taking up a sprinter's position. "LEEEEEERRRROOOOOYYYYY JEEEEEEEENNNNNKKKKINNNNSSS!" I shout. *CRASH* I plow straight through the door, taking it off its hinges and straight into what feels like a mook. I step out from behind my impromptu metal shield to see a very dead mook and a very stunned person tied to a chair and dressed in red and black clothing, tattered and scuffed and generally looking in pretty bad shape.

"C'mon Ivan, I'm getting you outta here." I say, pulling out one of my many knives and slicing through his bonds. As he stood up I took a second to look over him in further detail. he was about four or five inches taller than me, looked my age, and had jet-black hair and irises.

"Who… who are you?" He asks a bit shakily, with a noticeable Russian accent.

"I'm Kurt, I know what you're going through but you'll have to trust me. I'm going to take you to a hospital to get you checked out, you'll be safe there." I say. As he stumbles, I grab him and support him with my shoulder. "Hang on." I say.

"What?"

*bamf*

I step out of my characteristic smoke cloud in the Beacon infirmary, Ivan hunched over vomiting behind me.

"I need a doctor!" I shout, as a few nurses rush over. "He's hurt. White Fang was interrogating him when I found him. I'll be back after my mission ends." I say to them before walking over to Ivan, as I shall now call him.

"What. The. Hell." He pants, still hunched over.

"It's alright, I'll explain everything when I get back." I say to him.

*bamf*

I reappear next to the crater in Mountain Glenn, hearing a train whistle from inside the cavern.

'It appears that I'm a bit late.' I think, jumping down to the ground and performing a rolling landing. I stand up and see a rather large train pass by on a nearby set of rails. 'I think that's the 6:30 express.' I bamf onto the roof and see my teammates a couple of cars back. They are crowded around an open hatch in the car's roof.

"Sorry I'm late, I had some business to take care of." I say as I near them.

They all spin around to look at me, a bit surprised if I do say so myself.

"Kurt! You're alright!" Ruby says, running up and hugging me.

"Nice to see you too. But now's probably not the best time." I say to her.

"It's a bomb!" Oobleck shouts.

Without another word, we all decide to run.

"Blake! Detach the Caboose! He'll kill us all!" Oobleck orders.

"It detached on its own!" Blake responds a few seconds later, as we check our car: bomb, the next car:bomb, and the next couple after that: ALL FRAKKING BOMBS.

"Keep moving!" I shout, as we hop a few more cars, each releasing seconds after we clear it. Eventually we come upon one that doesn't have a bomb and we stop to catch our breath and figure out what's going on.

"We've got incoming!" I shout as White Fang mooks, in various states of armament, mass on the roof of a car about a football field's length away.

I drop down onto one knee and start cracking off single shots, picking off anybody with a firearm.

*BOOOM* We look back as the most recently detached car explodes, forming a hole to the surface through which Grimm emerge and begin to follow the train.

'They're leading Grimm to the city!" I shout, reloading "Oobleck!"

"Yes Kurt?"

"Where does this line end?" I ask, the answer already in my head.

"Why in Glenn Square, why would yo- Oh my." He says, the pieces falling into place.

"I'm going to bamf to Beacon, get as many people as I can, and head to Glenn Square. Try to evac the civvies and set up a perimeter. See you on the flip side." I say. One of my major concerns for the past year or so was how to avoid the massive civilian casualties I knew were bound to occur after The Breach. After going through the options in my head, I'd decided that alerting Ozpin and Ironwood ASAP and praying to Murphy was the best plan of action.

*bamf*

"Ozpin! We've got trouble!" I say loudly, appearing in his office.

"What is it Kurt? Your new friend that you just dropped off?" He asks, a bit concerned.

"What's going on?" Ironwood and Goodwitch both ask from somewhere behind me.

"We have a large number of White Fang and an even larger number of Grimm incoming via the old Mountain Glenn-Vale rail line. They should hit in the Glenn Square. I'd suggest sounding the emergency alarms and scrambling everyone and everything we can get. It's going to be a big one." I say succinctly.

*bamf*

I appear in hangar B-17, stepping from the smoke cloud and marshalling my forces.

"SQUADS ONE AND TWO, LOAD UP IN THE RAIDER!" I bellow, ordering the aforementioned squads into the large armored monstrosity before spotting something odd.

"IVAN! What the hell are you doing here!?" I shout, seeing the teen staring into one of the storage containers.

"They-they told me to stay here until you got back. What's happening?" He asks, a bit shocked.

"Do you know how to drive a truck?" I ask, jogging to Da Trukk, opening the door and flipping a few switches.

"Da." He says from right next to me, a bit confused.

"Good, then you can follow me. I'll be in that one." I say pointing to The Raider. "SQUAD THREE LOAD UP IN DA TRUKK!" I bellow, as the third squad of androids pile into the MRAP-type vehicle. "And before you ask: yes, everything here is some form of crazy." I say, climbing into The raider through the top hatch. The Raider is effectively a copy of a Space Marine Land Raider with an Abrams turret and main gun and point-defense miniguns slapped on for good measure. In other words, it is a mobile fortress capable of carrying two and a half squads of androids within.

I flip a few switches and take off my helmet, clipping it to my belt.

"Ivan, you getting this?" I ask.

"Da, I hear you." He says.

"Follow me." Is all I say as one of the hangar's massive doors opens to let us out. We speed out across the campus and down a rather long, winding road down from the plateau upon which Beacon rests to the city, and from there to Glenn Square.

"So, Ivan, where are you from?" I ask, sitting in the driver's seat of the Raider.

"I'm from… from…" He says, the realization dawning upon him.

"You've got a strangely specific form of amnesia." I explain. "You won't remember your name, your family or your friends. Nothing of a personal nature whatsoever, although you will remember facts and skills." I continue, prompting a look of confusion on Ivan's face. "I know because the same thing happened to me. About a year and five months ago, I woke up in a snowy forest on a small island just off the coast. All I had were the clothes on my back, an Iphone, a folding knife, a Colt M1911, five magazines and a spare round. I'll tell you the rest of the story later, but suffice to say that I got adopted by a family and I'm now enrolled in a combat academy." I say, before launching into a long explanation of Remnant and all of the various craziness going on at the moment as air-raid sirens blared in the distance.

[Five or so minutes later, nearly at Glenn Square]

"So, if I'm getting this right, the entire population of this planet is contained within four kingdoms and under almost constant siege by creatures that are effectively pure evil. The Faunus are effectively humans born with animal bits and Hunters are people trained in the use of Aura, a natural shield that all people have?" Ivan asks, getting to the main points of my exposition.

"Pretty much. But we also have semblances, which are special abilities unique to every person. Mine is teleportation. And then there's the fact that people here seem to break the laws of physics just by existing. And Dust, with a capital dee, is the primary energy source here. It is commonly found in its natural crystalline form and can be refined into a powder form which is more easily controlled but less powerful." I say. An explosion echoes and a pall of dust rises above the skyline.

"That'd be the train." I say, putting on my helmet. "Try and keep up." I press both of the control levers forwards as far as they can go, the Raider jumping forwards, Ivan keeping Da Trukk close behind. "When I tell you to, hit the brakes as hard as you can and flip the switch that reads _Auto Fire_. Got it?" I say, flipping a few switches on my control panel, turning off the safeties for the mounted weapons and giving the inbuilt aiming CPUs (CPUs taken from destroyed androids) full control of the weapons systems. Soon we came upon a group of Beowolves just at the edge of the square, about twenty, and a pair of Ursai. "IVAN! BRAKES! NOW!" I shout, swerving to the side and braking, flipping a few switches as I opened the exit hatch above me, unfolding Blue Death from its place at the small of my back.

"DEPLOY! DEPLOY! DEPLOY!" I bellow, ordering my androids to exit the vehicles. Soon they form up into fireteams and mow down the Beowolves. I bring Blue Death up and empty half a clip into each Ursa, just to be sure. "Stay in the truck Ivan." I say, seeing him move to open the door. "Shout if you need some help." I say, as the Raider's automated weapons open up, the main cannon roaring and blasting apart a small Deathstalker. "ALL SQUADS, FORM A GUNLINE AND FIRE AT WILL!" My androids form two lines across the road and started firing at the various weaker Grimm nearby. I, on the other hand, bamf'd up to a rooftop overlooking the Square and switched Blue Death to its sniper form, getting down on a knee and providing cover fire to my teammates, still recovering from the crash while holding back the Grimm.

I see a Beowolf jump for Ruby while her back is turned and I place a round straight through its head. She looks up, sees me and waves. I return the gesture and get back to work, quickly emptying my magazine before deciding to find some bigger targets.  
And for that, I'd need a bigger gun. I collapse Blue death and reattach it to the back of my armor, under my greatcoat.

I bamf to the raider and open one of the disembarkation hatches, finding a long weapon case and a large box of ammo belt. I pick up the case and place a hand on top of the box.

*bamf*

I reappear on top of the roof holding the weapon case with the box at my side. I place the case down and open it, retrieving a rather bulky foot and a half long rifle and a foot and a half long barrel. I attached the two and opened the ammo box, pulling out the start of a belt of two hundred fifty .60 caliber magnum armor piercing/incendiary rounds. I slot them into the receiver and pull back the bolt, loading a round into the chamber. I flip down a rather sturdy-looking bipod and sight in on an Ursa Major that Yang is heading for.

*BOOM* The weapon kicks back and the Ursa's head disappears. 'That's gonna leave a mark.' I think, mentally noting that I should install more shock-absorbers when I work on it next.

Yang looks up to my rooftop perch with a look of wonderment, she sees me and the look quickly changes to a smirk as she nods in my direction before launching into the fray once more. I quickly search for more targets, each feeling the wrath of my as-of-yet unnamed weapon.

I switch comm channels.

"This is Kurt Wagner with Team-" *BOOM* An Ursa Major goes down. "RWWBY from Beacon Academy, just wondering about the ETA-" *BOOM* A Deathstalker takes a round through the faceplate and slumps down. "Of reinforcements. There's enough Grimm for everyone so don't be shy to bring along a few heavily-armed friends." I broadcast on the open channel, hopefully reaching everyone within comm range. 'This is a lot more Grimm than in the show. Gotta love a target-rich environment.' A shadow passes over me and I look up to see a small flock of fully grown Nevermores fly in. "Nevermores are in the air, repeat, Nevermores have breached Valean airspace. Air cover recommended." I say into the line before switching back to my previous channel, pulling a small box, a homemade SOFLAM, from my greatcoat and I aim it towards the Nevermores, pressing a button to designate each one. "Designating targets as Alpha One through Six." I say over my command channel. "Engage targets with all available weapons." I order, as thirty Assault Rifles and a half a dozen miniguns open up on the flock of Nevermores, bringing three down and diverting them from making a run on my teammates, still alone in the square. I look to the actual breach to see a Paladin arm jerkily rise from the rubble, Zwei and Oobleck following quickly behind, Zwei managing to headbutt a Creep to death. 'We have such an awesome dog.'

I hear the whine of Bullhead engines and look up to see a pair of Beacon Academy Bullheads swooping in and disgorging JNPR, CFVY and Professor Port. JNPR starts to take on the Grimm heading away from the square, to prevent them from wreaking havoc in the rest of the city. CFVY, on the other hand, dives into the fray to take out the bigger Grimm. Coco pulls out a minigun and mows down a small pack of Ursai before putting down a Deathstalker and the remaining three Nevermores. 'Your undeclared challenge is accepted Coco.' I think, turning my scope to the Breach itself. I see a mob of Grimm massing in the cover of the massive hole to sweep in and overwhelm the assembled students, teachers, and dog. 'That's strange, they usually just Zerg rush. They're starting to plan now. Not good.' I notice that the amassing horde is mostly comprised of Ursa Majors and Deathstalkers, with a few Creeps and a pair of King Tajitu thrown in for good measure. I press a button on the left side of my helmet, just forward of where my ear is located.  
"Play Glorious Land; set external speakers to max." I say, using my suit's voice command function.

* _Endless wastes, our patience runs thin_ * Glorious Land by Sabaton starts to play, my suit's external speakers blaring it as loud as they can. I turn my weapon upon the massing Grimm sheltering in the Breach, flip a selector on the side of my gun, brace myself, and squeeze the trigger.

The rifle spits four rounds, taking down a rather large Deathstalker. 'Oh yeah, scope.' I press a button on the side of the 10x scope and it folds down into a holographic sight, allowing me a better view of the target area.

As the Deathstalker collapses, the mass of Grimm start to move as one, charging from the Breach like a tidal wave. "Shiẞe." I quickly tighten down on the trigger, launching a fully-automatic barrage at the onrushing tide of Grimm. "ALL SQUADS! HOLD THEM BACK!" I bellow into the command channel, and they obey. The androids move as a single unit, each squad advancing alongside the others, keeping up a fusillade of fully automatic fire against the Grimm horde. I felt a good deal of pride as I watched them march on as one. As they march to their doom, I pray to Murphy that they hold off the Grimm long enough for help to arrive.

I turn my gaze from my androids back to the Breach, and continue to fire. Ursai, Creeps and the other multitude of Grimm fall, only to be replaced by ten more. As the Grimm charge on, my gun falls silent, the last shell clinking on the roof, joining the pile of spent casings and ammo chain-links. I set the weapon down, there's not enough time to reload. I pull my helmet from my head and clip it to my belt. 'Time to bring back an old friend.' I bamf back down to the Raider, walking back inside to open a rather large crate, hefting the weapon within and pulling back the bolt, loading a round into the chamber.

I bamf into the Square, seeing my androids run out of ammunition and charge the mass of Grimm, bayonets fixed.

I look around to see the three teams barely holding their own, surrounded by Grimm.

*DAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKA* The Ma Deuce spews fire.

I hold down the firing stud and slowly advance towards the Grimm, a look of determination in my eyes and a wordless battle cry on my lips.

"FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" The Grimm horde thins out a bit, giving the teams the break that they'd been waiting for. They break from the horde and I move to firing more controlled bursts in order to avoid hitting them. They form up on me, readying their weapons. They'd run out of ammunition so it's just melee for now. I continue firing as the horde nears until the Ma Deuce finally runs dry. I drop it and ready Blue Death, firing in controlled bursts until the magazine empties. I feel someone tap my shoulder and turn to see none other than Ivan, holding an assault rifle from Da Trukk.

"Am I late for the party?" He says with a grin, pulling back the bolt. I take a step to the side to let him join our line. The Grimm close in.

"A little." I reply. A few more yards and they'll be in.

"Then I guess you won't mind a few others showing up late as well." He says, bringing up the AR and firing three-round bursts as the whine of Dustplane engines fills the air. The Grimm line erupts in fire as a pair of Atlesian drop-ships open up with their gatling cannons. there's only one thing to do now.

"CHAAARRRGGGGEEE!" I bellow, leading the charge towards the disoriented Grimm line. They're disoriented and their charge has been broken, this is our chance to break this attack. As we bash, stab and slice our way through the horde, I catch a glimpse of Goodwitch using her telekinesis to finally repair the massive hole in the ground. Atlesian androids are falling like rain as other teams and even a handful of Hunters who must have been nearby move in and eradicate the remaining Grimm.

A few minutes later, it's all over. I walk around collecting what's left of my androids as well as the weapons that I'd dropped over the course of the fight as they ran out of ammo. As I pack up the guns and pile the broken bits of android in The Raider, I spot Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder handing off Roman Torchwick to a pair of Atlesian androids. 'And the infiltrators finally make an appearance. Probably hanging out on the fringes of the fight like a bunch of cowards. They can wait for some other time, I've got other things to deal with.' I think, turning my mind back to everything I'd have to do over the coming weeks. I'd have to bring Ivan up to speed about Remnant, I'd have to train him how to fight, I'd have to convince Ozpin to let him into Beacon, I'd have to improve my new gun, I'd have to name said gun, I'd have to scrape together a few androids from the parts they'd left behind and I'd have to do whatever else popped up. 'This is gonna be a busy month. Or two.'


	31. Chapter 31

Ch31: Collecting Strays

(Wednesday, Y+1, M+4, D+22)

[Crystal's Cafe, Glenn Square]

"My name is Lisa Lavender, and I'm here with the one and only team RWWBY; a team instrumental in saving the city of Vale from the Grimm incursion just yesterday." Lisa says, sitting across from us at a table, a cameraman over her shoulder and the ravaged Glenn Square over ours. Crystal's cafe is pretty much the only building in Glenn Square that survived yesterday structurally intact. We are sitting in the order of our letters in the team's name; Ruby, Weiss, me, Blake, and finally Yang. I'm wearing my combat armor and my helmet is sitting on the table in front of me. "Now, Miss Rose, you are actually the youngest person to ever be accepted to Beacon, what is it like being the youngest person in the academy?" Lisa asks, directing her microphone to my little sister for her answer.

'Well, um, it's not all that bad really. I mean, I left most of my friends back at Signal, but I've made lots of new ones. It also didn't hurt that my brother and sister got in too." She says. I can tell she's a bit shy and nervous, but somebody who doesn't know her probably couldn't tell.

"That'd be Kurt and I." Yang clarifies.

"Pardon me asking, but how are you three related?" Lisa asks, a little confused.

"Ruby and I are sisters, we share a father." Yang says, trying (and succeeding) to keep her emotions regarding Summer and her mother under control.

"And I'm adopted. I woke up on Patch just under a year and a half ago with amnesia and they took me in." I say, gesturing to my sisters.

"Thank you for the explanation." Lisa says. "What I think we'd all like to know now is how your five became involved in the single deadliest Grimm attack in the past decade."

"Well it all started on our first away mission in Mountain Glenn, just yesterday." Weiss says.

"We had just set up camp for the night with Professor Oobleck, the Huntsman we were shadowing." Yang continues.

"I had taken first watch when our dog Zwei, who'd come along with us, went outside to use the bathroom. After he did what he needed to do, I heard some voices. I decided to investigate and spotted a pair of White Fang members. I followed them to the entrance of their base and when I went back, a sinkhole opened up in the road and I fell in." Ruby says.

"Our dog, however, didn't and went back to the campsite to get help. He brought us to the sinkhole and we found that it opened into a massive underground cavern that the White Fang had turned into a base." I say.

"They'd repurposed the old Mountain Glenn-Vale rail line and had loaded a train full of stolen weapons, Dust and mechs. Just before the train left, we found Ruby, who'd been captured by the White Fang. As the train started to move, we boarded it and ended up on the last car."

"It didn't take us long to realize that the car was filled with crates of Dust and a bomb, which quickly activated." Yang says.

"We were set upon by many White Fang members and mechs. Oobleck decided that it would be best for Ruby and himself to hold off the White Fang while Yang, Weiss and I attempted to get to the front of the train and stop it." Blake says.

"And what about you Mister Wagner? What did you do?"

"I got the message out. I knew that if the train hit, there would be casualties. Innocent people would die. I teleported to Headmaster Ozpin's office to warn him. He managed to get the warning out a few minutes before the train hit. If he didn't, civilian casualties would have been much higher." I say, picking up my helmet and staring into the black T-slit visor.

"Oh, well then. Mister Wagner, what is your opinion of the cause of the White Fang?"

"I can see why they're angry, but taking that anger out on the innocent is entirely inexcusable. On the other hand, I am not exactly impressed by the opinions of certain Humans; we aren't animals, we're people too. I just wish that more people could see that." I say, a bit solemnly if I do say so myself. Which I do.

The interview drags on for about half an hour, during which I try to prevent myself from showing the extreme boredom that I was definitely feeling.

"I think that's enough for today, thank you for being here today team RWWBY." Lisa Lavender says.

"You're welcome." We all say simultaneously, before looking at each other and all making some sort of amused expression. We walked back to Beacon together, taking in the scenery and the differences in the mood of the city after the attack. There were squads of Atlesian soldiers and AK androids patrolling across the city. A few of the Atlesian airships were in the air over the city with flights of gunships sweeping the city was on lockdown.

"What were they trying to do?" I ask aloud, my helmet clipped to my belt.

"They were trying to lead Grimm into the city." Yang says.

"Yes, but what was the end goal? They must have known that the Atlesian military was here in Vale. And Hunters, and the Valean military, and students from Beacon. The only question was how long it would take for the Grimm to be eradicated and the Breach sealed. Sure people died, but Vale still stands." I say, my arms spreading out to gesture to the city as a whole.

"The White Fang _are_ terrorists, and if you haven't noticed, the citizens are quite scared." Weiss says.

"Yes, but unless there's some sort of follow-up, the entire attack just wasted resources. Now that I think about it, what were all of the White Fang doing on the train in the first place? The entire plan consisted of effectively a suicide run towards a massive wall in a train full of high explosives being chased by an unholy number of Grimm. How were they planning on getting out alive?" I ask. "I mean, they must have known the Atlesian military was in town, they weren't exactly subtle about it. I mean, even though they seem to use almost nothing but androids, they're quite formidable."

"What do you mean by that?" weiss asks a bit pointedly.

"Androids are a formidable weapon, but they're not exactly the best weapon: they're individually quite weak, they're expensive and rely on intricate and therefore maintenance-heavy systems, they're unable to adapt as well as a human soldier and best of all, unlike a human, you can hack them!" I say, stopping dead in my tracks as we pass through a small park. "...Waitaminute…" I think a bit, the girls stop and turn around to look at me. "Ruby?"

"Yes" She answers.

"Didn't you say that after that woman infiltrated the CCT, an image appeared on all of the screens?"

"Yep: a black chess piece, a queen, on a green background. Why?"

"Because, if an image appeared, then she must have put something into the system. Some sort of virus. And since ALL transmissions in the kingdom are routed through the CCT, the Atlesian combat networking, which includes their androids, must pass through it! And if there's some kind of virus in the system, they might be able to hack into the Androids. And if they do that, they could wreak all sorts of havoc, maybe even take over the city if they play their hand right." I muse to the girls. We've all since moved under the cover of a tree, taking advantage of the shade.

"What makes you think she's with the White Fang? From what you said, she was human." Yang asks.

"The girl I fought behind the ballroom was the same woman Ruby fought at the CCT, who in turn was the same woman who Ruby and I fought near the Dust shop, who was working with Torchwick, who has been almost exclusively working with the White Fang. Therefore, the mystery woman is likely working with the Fang." I say.

"Alright then, point made: don't question the all-knowing, all-seeing Kurt." Yang says quite sarcastically.

"I'm not done yet. My next question is how did she escape? When she launched the Dust crystals at me, it kicked up a good bit of smoke and dust and blocked my vision, so I didn't see where she went. But based on the fact that I intercepted her heading **into** the ballroom before she escaped, and the fact that nobody caught her despite quite an intensive search, the most likely explanation is that she made it into the ballroom and blended in with all of the other students. And since she managed to blend in with a bunch of students, she must be or appear to be around the same age as us. You girls following me?" I ask, they nod a bit hesitantly. "Good. And since she looks like a student and managed to blend in at the dance, she either is or is posing as a student; either one from Beacon or a transfer student. I think we can discard the idea of her being from Beacon because that would either require well-forged documents or a spy amongst the teachers. And since ozpin thoroughly vets all of the staff and students, I think that that possibility can be discarded too. So, we likely have an infiltrator in the school posing as a transfer student who may have the ability to take control of the better portion of the atlesian military in Vale. Wonderbar." I say. "I need to speak to Ozpin." I say, bamfing to The Cave. "Hey Ivan! Where'd you go?" I ask, seeing him emerge from the shipping crate that I use as an armory.

"I was looking at your guns." He says.

"So I've told you about what this school does, right?" He nods. "Now, would you like to become a Huntsman? You'll have to train a lot to catch up. Pretty much all of your free time will be spent training, but in the end you'll become the a warrior of a skill level unheard of back home. You will be able to break the laws of physics by the mere act of existing and will be able to carve through armies of Grimm without breaking a sweat… Is it just me or did that sound like a recruitment ad for the Marine corps?" I chuckle at the end of the dramatic speech.  
"Yes." He says with a bit of a smirk, still standing in the doorway to the armory.

"To which one?"

"To both."

"Alright, now I just need to convince Ozpin to let you stay. I mean, it's not like you've got anywhere else to go." I say, before remembering something. "When we get to his office, keep in mind that I've never told him about Earth, as far as he knows, I just woke up one day in a forest with amnesia and don't know where I'm I've told him is that I woke up in a forest one day with no recollection of my family, friends or who I was. And as far as I know, the same thing pretty much happened to you."

"So where **am** I going to stay? You've showed me your team's dorm, it doesn't look like you could fit another person in there."

"I'll set up something down here for you. And I pretty much live down here so I'll just keep doing that. Plus it'll give me time to get you up to par with everybody else here. Just to let you know, nobody here has any appreciation for a good firefight, they all want to get up in your face. I've kinda got it easy since I can just teleport away so the melee training will probably help me as much as it does you." I say, motioning for Ivan to follow me as I head towards the door. "C'mon, let's go talk to Ozpin." I walk to Ozpin's tower with Ivan in tow. "Why he couldn't just put his office in a more easily accessible location I'll never know." I say, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the top floor. The elevator reaches the top floor and the doors open with a ding.

"Hello Kurt, I see you've brought your new friend." Ozpin takes a sip from his coffee mug. "How may I help you?"

"Actually I was wondering if you could admit Ivan into the academy. You see, he's kinda in the same boat I was in when I woke up about a year and a half ago, he doesn't remember his friends, family or himself. I've asked him and he wants to become a hunter, so what do you say?" I ask, Ivan right next to me as we stand before the headmaster's desk.

"I can tell this means a lot to you Kurt. He can stay, I will file the paperwork tomorrow." He says, taking another sip of coffee, as a smile spreads across my face. "But you are responsible for making sure that he is up to speed. At least make sure that he can stand even with Mister Arc." He says with a small smirk.

"Sir Yes Sir!" I say, deciding to snap ramrod straight and salute the headmaster. Surprisingly he returns the salute and I decide to ask him something else.

"Headmaster. I have come to an… intriguing conclusion." I say.

"And that conclusion is?"

"The woman both Ruby and I fought after the dance has planted a virus in the CCT that may possibly be able to take control of the AK-200s in the city and may also be posing as an exchange student here in Beacon."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Through the powers of deduction, my dear Ozpin. Though, if I'm being entirely honest, I'm much more certain about the intruder being a transfer student. But I must go now, i've still got to introduce Ivan to the team."

"Ivan? I thought you said that he didn't remember his name?" Ozpin asks.

"He doesn't, I just decided that he sounds like an Ivan and he hasn't complained so far."

"Young man, what do you take to be your name?" Ozpin asks Ivan, looking to the Ruuskie.

"Ivan…" He looks down at his (red) shirt. "Ivan Redovitch Headmaster." He says, nodding.

"Alright then Mister Redovitch, you and Mister Wagner may leave."

"Kurt Wagner, that name sounds familiar." Ivan says as the elevator door closes.  
"That's because I stole it. You see, when I first saw myself in a mirror, I noticed that I bear quite a striking resemblance to a comic book character named Nightcrawler, whose real name was Kurt Wagner. The fact that I am fluent in German and tend to speak with a German accent may have also had something to do with that. Plus it was the first name that popped into my head." I say. We walk to the Team RWWBY dorm, discussing various topics, from the politics of remnant to what weapons were possible in the wonderful physics-breaking world of Remnant.  
*Knock Knock* I rap on the door with my knuckles.

"Hey girls, I've got a friend I'd like you to meet." I say, hearing Ruby squee a bit. I open the door to see the girls sitting/laying on their respective beds.

"Girls, this is Ivan Redovitch." I say , stepping to the side of the door to let him in and gesturing towards him. "Ivan these are Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang. They are my teammates." I say, watching as my teammates size up Ivan. Ruby is excited, Yang is _interested_ , Weiss is suspicious and Blake takes a peek before returning to her book.

"And he's the person you rescued from the White Fang yesterday? He doesn't look like he's in that bad condition." Yang says.

"I wasn't in there for very long before Kurt decided to show up. A couple of hours actually. I woke up in a ruined city and started to wander around a bit, wondering to myself how drunk I'd been the night before. All of a sudden a couple of guys dressed up in some uniform I'd never seen jumped me and knocked me out. Next thing I know a guy with antlers is punching me and yelling things like _who are you_ and _where did you come from_. So I started cursing him off in my native language. Kurt must've heard me and, well, you know the rest." He says, a small smile on his face.

"And what else do you have to tell them?" I ask, leaning against the wall, idly twirling a knife.

"I've been accepted into the academy at Kurt's request. I'm going to be training to be a hunter."

"And I'll be training him until 's at least my level, so I won't have much free time. Just letting you know. Now, does anyone want to help me design him some weapons?" I ask, knowing that really only one person in the room would answer.

"Yesyesyesyesyes! Omygoshitsgoingtobesof-" Ruby wordvomits.

"Yes Ruby, you can help." I say, watching her face light up. She had matured a bit over the past few months, but her excitement at the prospect of weapon-forging was undiminished.

"C'mon Ivan, let's design you some weapons." I say, as Ruby leads the way to the Beacon forges.

We emerge a bit after midnight, tired yet content. We'd finished forging Ivan's first weapon: a four-barreled rocket launcher integrated into the head of a warhammer. The weapon had two modes: a rocket launcher mode and a warhammer mode. In rocket launcher (RL) mode, it resembled an M202 launcher. In warhammer mode the grip extended and folded out into a four foot-long pole while the head compressed a bit. It also locked in the rockets in hammer mode so that when they fired they would propel the weapon forward while also detonating the warheads on impact. The body/head was a jet black, while the grip/handle was a bright red. It could fire a variety of 50mm rockets including incendiary (NAPM), high explosive (HE) and armor piercing (AP) , which Ivan could carry individually in a quiver-like armored container on his back, to be loaded as necessary. A secondary trigger/selector switch allows Ivan to switch from single-shot to simultaneous fire, which launches all four rounds simultaneously. next, we'd managed to construct Ivan a partial suit of combat armor, a chest piece, shoulder pads, boots and a headset/HUD. We (Ivan and I) had also decided that he needed another, lighter, bullet-based, weapon. Although Ruby didn't understand why Ivan needed another weapon she was more than willing to help make it. Ivan and I headed down to The Cave while Ruby headed back to the dorm. Earlier I'd set up another hammock in the corner for Ivan, so we changed into our sleepwear and promptly fell asleep.

(Friday, Y+1, M+4, D+24)

'"HELP!"' I hear a shriek in the middle of the night and I shout, bolting upright from my hammock, causing me to become unbalanced and fall face-first into the floor.

"Are you alright Kurt?" Ivan asks, getting up from the bed I'd installed for him in The Cave.

"I… I heard someone." I say, realizing what, or rather who, I'd just heard. "Somebody I know is in trouble. Kit up." I say to Ivan, already stepping into one of the shipping crates to change from my pajamas to my combat armor. Ivan was in the next one over following my lead. We both exit our respective crates a couple of minutes later all kitted up. He slings his rocket launcher over his shoulder and hefts a borrowed AR from my armory crate.

"It seems it's time to put your weapons to good use." I say, before closing my eyes and concentrating.

"What are you doing?" Ivan asks, a bit confused.

"Quiet. I need to concentrate." I say to him, still focusing. '" _Neo, where are you?_ "' I get a response soon after.

'"Near Junior's club. Please help!"' I hear, fear and urgency carried along with the message.

"I've got her." I say, "Hold on." I say, placing a hand on his back.

"Nyet, not again." He bemoans.

*bamf* We appear on a roof overlooking Junior's club, to a scene that would be well at home in a World War Three movie. We see a trio of Paladins trying to pin down an agile little figure with the support of a large group of White Fang mooks, while another group, led by a certain chainsaw-wielding psychopath, was busy holding off another group of surprisingly well-dressed mooks, a set of red and white twins, and a rather large man with a rocket launcher/bat.

"Ivan, if you wouldn't mind taking down the mechs? And do try not to hit the well-dressed chaps in black and red or the red and white girls, they're sort of on our side." I say, dropping down onto one knee and shouldering Blue Death to crack off a chain or shots against the mooks trying to pin down Neo. "And the other girl with the parasol, she's the reason we're here. I know her." I say, placing a pair of rounds into a mook's center of mass, dropping him/her. Soon the enemy realizes they have another problem, although that was more due to Ivan explodifying their Paladins than anything else.

"Let's move Ivan. Follow me. And try to watch out for the chainsaw-guy. he's not very fun to be around." I say, cringing as he eviscerates one of Junior's men. I mean, I've killed people before, but that's just unpleasant to see. I jump off the roof, shifting Blue Death back to AR form and attaching the C-100 to its bayonet clips.

"Da Comrade." He says with an almost stereotypical accent, landing next to me.

"And now the psycho sees us. Great." I say maybe a bit too loudly, seeing as the Lieutenant revs his chainsaw and charges at us from about a hundred yards away.

Ivan raises his rifle to take a shot, but I push it down, keeping my hand on the barrel.

"Hold on." I say when Psycho McChainsaw is about ten yards from us.

*bamf* We appear a few feet behind the group of mooks who have finally managed to surround a wounded, tired Neo. I see her raise her parasol in a last attempt to ward off the imminent fusillade.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" I shout, lobbing conc-frags amongst the small mob of mooks. The grenades detonate, scattering them and I start stabbing and bashing my way through to Neo, Ivan close behind, having decided that it was easier to just shoot the mooks in the face. The White Fang mooks break and run, apparently having had enough. I run up to Neo, Ivan covering my back.

"Sorry we're late. What happened?" I ask, helping Neo up and supporting her with my shoulder. Ivan was firing off short bursts at the White Fang, who were performing a surprisingly competent withdrawal. I walk with Neo over to Junior and his men.

I hear the faint clacking noise of a couple dozen guns being raised, accompanied by the sight of pretty much all of Junior's men raising their weapons, quite a few held in _gangster style_.

"It's alright, I'm not here to fight you." I say, pulling my bucket off with my free hand and clipping it to my belt. "I'd just like to talk to Junior." I explain, a bit irritated.

"Just put your guns away boys. Why do you always point your guns a peop-oooh it's you." he says, recognizing me.

"And don't forget them." I say, indicating Ivan and Neo. "I'd just like somewhere to sit down and get an idea of what the hell just went down." I tell Junior. He visibly relaxes.

"Oh, good. You can sit anywhere you'd like."

"Can we use one of the back rooms? I may need to patch Neo up and the front doesn't look like it's in the best of conditions." I say, seeing that the front of the club looks like Yang's been through… twice. "And I have some questions for you." I say, assisting Neo on the way to the back room, motioning for Junior to follow.

When we made it to the back, I helped Neo lie down on a glass coffee table and pulled a small emergency medical pack from my greatcoat. Opening it I pull out a spray bottle of disinfectant, a roll of gauze, and some medical tape.

"This'll sting a bit but I doubt you'll care." I say, spraying the disinfectant into a deep gash in her side, before pulling a large bandage from the medkit and placing it over the wound. I go about bandaging and disinfecting all of the various cuts and wounds.

"Could you please explain what the hell was going on out there?" I ask.

"Neo walked in here and got a drink. And then another, and another, and just before she finished her fifth, some White Fang guys showed up and tried to get past the bouncer. He didn't like that very much and before I know it a hundred or so White Fang guys, some mechs and that chainsaw-swinging freak show up and start trying to kill Neo. of course I'm not a big fan of nutjobs trying to kill my clientele, it's bad for business you know, along with the fact that they were trashing my club. So I decided to step in with my boys, and then you and your friend showed up and pretty much ended it all." Junior explains.

"Neo, you haven't… said anything, are you alright?" I ask, trying to find the right word for however the hell we communicate. 'Is it some sort of mental thing? A semblance? Ah, screw it.' She's still laying down on the table, staring at the ceiling.

'"This is it. It's all over. I'll never be able to get a contract again."'

"What? Why?" I ask, Ivan and Junior looking at me a bit weirdly. "Could you two leave us alone for a bit? Maybe you can try to figure out what you'll tell the Atlesian military and the Police when they actually bother to show up." They quickly get the message and walk out.

'"I failed my contract. I **ran**. I lost my charge to a bunch of **kids** , I nearly got beaten by a bunch of **thugs** , and most of all, nobody'll ever hire me again when they find out that I helped take part in the Breach. I barely even have anyone to go to for help. I don't even have a working weapon anymore."' I hear in a saddened tone as she turns her head to look at me. I crouch down to get to eye level with her.

"Why did the White Fang attack you?"

'"Something about cleaning up loose ends they said; now that Torchwick's been captured I was just an inconvenience."' She sounds both sad and a bit spiteful.

"Hey, you're still here in one piece. And if you really don't have anyone else to turn to, I'll help you get back onto your feet." I promise her. "You smell like booze and spent Dust, by the way. Let's get you somewhere you can get cleaned up." I say, grabbing her by the forearm and helping her upright. I pack way the medkit and feel something heavy on my back and a pair of arms wrap around my neck. Neo has decided that I'm now a horse Faunas, apparently. "Neo." I say flatly.

'"Yes?" She responds, her tone a bit happier.

"Why have you climbed onto my back."

'"Because I'm tired and still a bit drunk."

"Alright." I sigh, standing up with a bit of effort and walking out to get Ivan.

I walk into the front to see ivan and Junior chatting about something over a couple bottles of what is probably the Remnant equivalent of Vodka.

They turn to look at me and promptly burst into laughter, Neo has apparently fallen asleep while still somehow managing to hold onto my back.

"Junior I swear to Murphy, keep that up and I'll be bringing my sister back." I say, a bit of irritation in my tone.

Junior just keeps laughing. 'Oh, yeah, I never told him.'

"Let me jog your memory pal." I say, walking over to him and showing him a picture on my scroll. He takes one look and promptly shuts up. He hands me a bottle of probably-vodka.

"It's on the house. Tell Blondie I say hi. Turns out I owe Jenkins fifty Lien." He says, "Never should have made that stupid bet." He mutters.

"What bet?"

"I bet Jenkins fifty Lien that nothing could trash this place worse than Blondie." He says, gesturing to the bullet-holes, blood stains, holes in the wall and a wrecked Paladin in the corner.

"Yeah pal, that right there's called tempting Fate. She can be quite the bitch sometimes. Let me know when you get this place back together, maybe I'll stop by for a drink." I say, taking the bottle and clapping him on the back. I walk over to Ivan and hand him the bottle. "Merry Christmas. let's go." I say to him. "Hold on." I grab onto his forearm and hear him mutter what's probably a curse in Russian.

*bamf* We reappear in The Cave.

"Go do what you want Ivan, I've got something to take care of." I try to set Neo down somewhere so I can get dressed into something a bit more comfortable and with a few less blood stains but, as my luck would have it, she just grips tighter and nuzzles into my neck in her sleep.

"I'm going to see the headmaster. She'll need somewhere to stay. And, to be entirely honest, I've got absolutely no other legal ideas on how to help her." I sigh and bamf to the base of the tower. It would be rude to enter without warning, especially considering the little mercenary currently sleeping on my back.

'"Where are we going? Why are we at Beacon?"'

"Because I'm a student here and I'm taking you to see the headmaster. Please do try not to kill anyone." I say, chuckling a bit at the end. I press the _up_ button and step inside, selecting the top floor.

"Would you mind getting off of my back? It's not exactly the best impression you could make on Goodwitch."

'"Goodwitch?"'

"She's the school's second in command."

'"No thanks. You're comfy."' She nuzzles into my shoulder.

"You're still drunk, aren't you."

'"A little."'

"Wonderbar."

'"What?"'

"Wonderbar. It translates to great." 'Shit.'

'"From what?"' She asks. 'Shit.'

*ding*

"Oh look, we're here." I say, stepping into Ozpin's surprisingly empty yet impressive office.

Glynda and Ozpin are both present, Ozpin at his desk sipping from a cup of coffee, probably to cover the smirk on his face, and Glynda looking rather annoyed with her whip in hand.

"How may I help you today mister Wagner?" Ozpin asks, still looking bemused at my predicament.

"She followed me home, can I keep her?" I ask, a small smirk on my face.

Ozpin's bemused look remains while Glynda's scowl deepens.

"Would you mind explaining to me why you have decided to bring a convicted criminal into the Academy Mister Wagner?" Glynda asks rather coldly.

"it's a long story. Suffice to say that she's a merc hired to guard Torchwick, and now that Torchwick's gone, the White Fang apparently decided to clean up a loose end. I happened to have met her once or twice before and she was kinda in a bad way so she asked me for help. So I dragged Ivan out to Junior's club and we find about a hundred White Fang, a handful of Paladins, and the White Fang guy with the chainsaw trying to kill Neo and Junior's crew." I say, before taking a deep breath. "Ivan and I decided that we didn't like that and we sent the White Fang running. And on a somewhat-related note, Ivan's combat abilities are actually quite a bit above the level of your average civvie, even a bit above the level of an actual soldier." I go off on a tangent. "But back to the matter at hand. Neo here is out of a job, weaponless, homeless, and I am pretty much the only person she has to fall back on. And I decided that I would help her. I gave her my word that I'd help her." I say, Neo still hanging onto my back, probably giving some sort of cheeky smile. "So if you wouldn't mind letting her stay here until she can get back onto her feet, I would be quite grateful." I say, still unable to get my mind off of how ridiculous I must look with a pint-sized mercenary riding on my back.

"Well then Mister Wagner, with that being said I have only one question for Miss Neapolitan." Ozpin says. 'How does he know her name? All I said was Neo. He appears to have done his research. Or gotten Goodwitch to do it.' He pauses dramatically and I assume that Neo tilts her head inquisitively. "Would you like to attend my school?" I see Goodwitch's scowl deepen even more, but there's no surprise. 'Almost as if she knew what was going to happen. Now that I think about it, this is quite like what happened with me and Ruby, and with Ivan. Hmmm.'

'"What do you think Kurt?"'

"I'd say go for it. Should you need anything, I'll be there to help. But could you please stop using me as a form of transport?" I ask, causing Ozpin to raise an eyebrow and Goodwitch to look at me like I'm a bit crazy which, to be entirely honest, I kind of am.

'"Nope. You're comfy."'

"I'm wearing metal and ceramic-based combat armor, I **highly** doubt that." I reply.

"And of my offer, Miss Neopolitan?" Ozpin asks, getting a bit tired of what seems to be me talking to myself.

Neo nods.

"I shall take that as a yes. Have a nice day you two." He says. I turn to leave. "And Mister Wagner?" I stop and turn back around. "Please do try not to make this kind of thing a habit."

I chuckle a bit. "Will do sir." I turn back around, walk into the open elevator and press the button for the bottom floor. "You do realize that this means you have to apologize to my sister for trying to kill her a couple of days ago." I say.

'"The blonde was your sister?"'

"And the little red one. I'm adopted."

'"Oh."' She laughs nervously. '"Sounds fun."'

"I'll try and make sure they separate her from her weapons first, though."

'"Why are we taking the elevator? Can't you teleport?"'

"Can't you teleport too?"

'"Good point."'

In a small flash, we are suddenly in The Cave… a meter or so above the floor.

*THUD*

"Welcome back Comrades! I trust your meeting with the good Headmaster went well." I hear Ivan say from the corner where I've set up a small living area, complete with a small bathroom. 'To think I originally asked Ozpin for a workshop, I don't think turning it into an extra dorm was ever in the agreement. But I guess he doesn't have a problem with it.' I look to the small 360-degree security camera in the ceiling that's been there since day one. 'After all, nobody was using it.'

'"I'm tired."'

"Then you can use my hammock. It's the blue one. I'll scrape together something else for myself." I say, walking over to my shipping crate, the one with my symbol painted onto the front doors. "Now if you wouldn't mind getting off of my back, I need to take this stuff off. Believe me, combat armor is **not** comfortable to sleep in." I say, barely suppressing a yawn.

'"I think I'll stay."'

"You leave me no choice then." I reply.

*bamf* I teleport a few feet ahead, leaving Neo behind. *thump* She hits the ground.

'"Hey!"'

"I'll be done soon." I say, quickly running into the container and locking the door. I quickly change into a black pair of gym shorts and a blue tee-shirt. I stack my armor and bodysuit in their places and make sure my various weapons are ready to be used at a moment's notice. I step outside to see Neo standing in front of the door irritatedly tapping her foot on the ground. "Yes Neo?"

'"..."'

"Is there something you want?" I ask.

'"I'm tired."'

"The hammock's over there," I point to it and turn towards another container, "Now-"

'"I can't go to sleep."' She sounds a bit embarrassed, dropping the irritated look to one that matches her tone.

"And how am I- The hammock's not big enough for two." I say.

'"I just want to cuddle. You're comfy."'

"Alright then. I'm going over there to get some blankets and then I'm going to set up a bed on the couch. Feel free to join me." I say, quite tired, as I walk towards the shipping crate, retrieving a blanket and laying down on the couch. As I fall asleep I feel a warm weight press down on my body and snuggle closer to me. 'It's gonna be a long week.'


	32. Chapter 32

Ch32: IVAN

(Saturday, Y+1, M+4, D+25)

I slowly wake up, trying to sit upright only to find a body constraining my movement.

"Neo. Wake up."

'"*groan.* What."' Neo responds, shifting.

"Could you please get off of me. I need to get dressed. And I've got to introduce you to my team sometime today."

'"*more groaning and indecipherable noises.*"' Neo just cuddles into me.

I hear the sound of a scroll camera clicking.

*sigh* "Ivan I swear to Murphy. Delete that photo or I will be forced to take drastic measures."

"Too late. Already sent it to your team."  
"You godless Commie bastard." I bolt upright, Neo falling to the floor. 'SHITSHITSHITSHIT.' "Wait. Where did you get a scroll? And where did you get my team's contact info?" I ask Ivan.

"The headmaster stopped by and dropped some things off; a pair of scrolls and some uniforms. The scrolls had the contacts preloaded. As well as a new room number and team name. We are now team Krakin." He says, as an entry from one of Ruby's books on mythical creatures comes to mind.

'Krakin- A mythical creature(s) of the seas in Valian lore. Said to be the defender of Vale's coast and the reason for abnormally low concentrations of aquatic Grimm in Valean waters. The mythical creature(s) have not been definitively proven to exist, although no reason has yet to be found for the aforementioned low concentrations of aquatic Grimm. Hmm. Interesting.' Then I remember what Ivan just did.

"Neo, you may want to get ready to run. Ivan, I will have my vengeance. I never should've given you that bottle of vodka." I say, running to my crate.

"How'd you know?" He questions.

"I can smell you from here Ivan. I'm a Faunus, remember?" I say, gearing up as fast as I can, making sure to stock up on flashbangs and freeze-grenades. And my Tactical Shovel (™), Commonly used for bludgeoning various Grimm/Cardin.

*BOOM* "WHAT THE HELL KURT!?" 'Well shit.'

"Ivan you are a dead man." I mutter under my breath. "A very, very dead man." I open the crate door, one hand already in my greatcoat, grasping an object. I pull the pin, holding the spoon in place.

"Hey ladies, before you kill me and all. I have one question." I see my teammates, all in varying states of confused and incredibly murderously pissed off. "What color is this?" I ask, holding up the pin.

"Umm, black?" Ruby answers.

"Wrong, the answer." 'Five' "Is." 'Four.' "FLASHBANG!" I shout, chucking the nonlethal device into the midst of my teammates, Ivan standing nearby with a smirk on his face. 'Three.' I grab Neo by the arm. "Sorry Girls!" I shout, pulling Neo inside the crate. The grenade lands on the ground in the middle of the group. 'Two.' "C'mon Neo!" *bamf*

We appear in the middle of a snowy forest on Patch. "And this is the Eversnow Forest. What an imaginative name." I say, trudging onwards through the foot-deep snow. I feel an impact on my back and I stumble forward a step or two. "Is this going to become a regular thing for you Neo?"

'"Maybe. The snow's cold."'

"You have an Aura."

'"But this is more fun."'

*Sigh* "Alright, we're going home. I'm just going to call my dad, let him know we're on our way." i say, pulling my scroll from an armored pouch and clipping my helmet to my belt. "Hey dad."

"Hello Kurt." Dad says flatly, sounding a bit disappointed.

"They sent you the picture, didn't they?" I ask, sighing.

"Yes."

"To be fair, she was horribly drunk and I was too tired to argue."

"Did you…?"  
"No! Just… no. Shame on you for thinking that Dad. Shame on you." I say, quite seriously, but lightening up near the end. "But yeah, just letting you know that I'm on my way with a pint-sized mercen-" *Thwack* "-Ow! Hey!"  
"Is something wrong?"

"No. Neo just decided that she didn't like being referred to as _Pint-si_ -" *Thwack* "-Ow! yeah, she doesn't like me calling her that."

"And why are you suddenly friends with a deadly mercenary assassin?" Dad asks.

"I delivered a package for Tuckson to Junior, who in turn asked me to deliver a package to a house that turned out to contain Neo we talked for a bit before I had to leave. If memory serves, that was when Blake ran away. I met Neo a few more times around the city and we talked more. Then, out of the blue last night, she asks for help. Turns out, she was being attacked by the white Fang at Junior's club, probably trying to tie up loose ends. I dragged ivan out there and together we drove off the White Fang." I say, continuing to trudge in the general direction of our house. "Turns out the whole Breach fiasco effectively ruined her life. No job, no chance of getting another, as well as the fact that she had no usable weapon and I was the only person she could turn to. So I promised that I'd help her out. Ozpin ended up inducting her into Beacon. I assume that he'll be discussing her situation with Ironwood sometime soon. You know, to clear her of the various crimes she's committed. Or at least strike some sort of deal. There's more but I'll tell you when I get home." I say.

"Why?" Dad asks.

"Because I'm not wearing my helmet and my nose feels like it's going to freeze off." I chuckle.

"Alright, see you soon. Qrow's over, by the way. He's quite… keen… to meet Neo." He says, before hanging up.

"So, Neo. You'll be needing a new weapon. I would recommend something with a gun in it, though." I say to Neo, placing my helmet on my head once more.

'"I was going to remake my parasol. I thought of putting a gun in it but then there'd be no space for the dagger."'

"Maybe use something Dust-based. Or just carry a gun."

'"But that wouldn't fit my style."'

"You know what fits your style even less? Being dead. But then again, I'm much more reliant on firearms."

'"Point taken. So, what is your weapon?"'

"A bullpup AR that shifts into a DMR, a knife that functions as a bayonet/bipod, a scoped pistol, a pair of cutlasses, and many, many knives. And the small armory I've built up thanks to all of my free time."

'"Did you buy them?"'

"No my mercenary friend. I made them!" I say, still trudging along. 'She's starting to get quite heavy. Good thing I can see the house. I'd since made it past the borders of the Patch Settlement Area, the ever-growing area of Patch settled by Humans and Faunus. The area had no true physical borders, instead it relied on recently graduated Hunter teams, Signal students, and retired Hunters as a sort of border-patrol force, augmented by a range of sensors and cameras to pinpoint large concentrations of Grimm. "We're almost home. My father and uncle are both teachers at Signal, just so you don't get any ideas."

'"What, you don't trust me?"'

"I just wanted to apprise you of the situation beforehand." I tousle her hair, earning a stern look. "Aaand we're here." I say, ringing the doorbell. "Now could you please get off of my back?"

'"Nope."'

"Lazy." The door opens to reveal my dad, looking at me with a strange mix of confusion and amusement. "She's lazy." *Thunk*

'"Ow!"'

"And that's why I wear a helmet. Ha. Serves you right."

"And why are you giving her a piggyback ride?" Dad asks, trying to refrain from laughing.

"Would you say no to someone who managed to defeat Yang?" I ask rhetorically. "That and this is the easiest way to keep an eye on her." Neo just grins.

"Point taken." Dad says, pulling out his scroll and snapping a couple of pictures before I can do anything. The downside of wearing a full-face helmet is that you can't give people death glares. But you do get to stare people down from behind a black reflective visor, so it kinda evens out.

"What is with people taking pictures of me today?!" I beg to the heavens, before walking inside. "Hi Qrow." I say, as he stares at me, Neo still using me as a form of transport. "Don't ask." I say, walking over to the couch. Neo jumps off my back and sits down. I sit down next to her and clip my helmet to my belt.

"So, would you mind explaining what **she** is doing here?" Qrow asks, emphasizing by pointing at Neo.

"She was in a bad place and I offered to help her. And as long as she refrains from breaking the law, I will continue to do so. The fact that she's my teammate now probably has something to do with it too."  
"Wait, she's part of RWWBY now?" Dad asks.

"No. I'm now the leader of Team K(rak)IN. It's a new three-person team. Incidentally, it is comprised of Myself, Neo and a guy named Ivan who is in the same … situation as I am." I say.

'"Same situation?"'

"I'll tell you later." I say.

"Huh?" Dad and Qrow question, as I appear to be responding to a question that wasn't asked.

"Oh, yeah. For some reason I can hear her in my head. I honestly have no idea why, but I can." I say, Neo just smiles.

Qrow and Dad just look at me like I'm crazy which, to be fair, I kind of am.

"Hey, if I were in your shoes I would call myself crazy too. But, to be honest, that is probably the **least** crazy thing that's happened to me in the past year and a half." I say with a smirk.

Qrow looks me in the eyes of a few moments. "I believe you." He says. "We were planning on surprising you and the girls by showing up at Beacon tomorrow to stay and watch the tournament."  
"I won't tell." I say. "And it goes without saying that Neo won't either… Because she's mute." Neo just stares at me.

'"..."'

"But I guess we'll be staying here until you leave. That should give Yang enough time to cool down, as it were." I say. "And of course I have to plot revenge on Ivan for taking the pictures that started this entire incident. I'm thinking of assigning him to record the entirety of a few of Port's lectures." I say with an evil grin.

"May Oum have mercy on that kid's soul. Port was in our class at Beacon…" Qrow shivers.

"Well then, with that settled, I'm just going to pick a few things up from my room." I say, walking off to my room, Neo alongside me. "How're you doing? Looking forward to becoming a Huntress?"

'"It'll be different. At least I won't have to worry about trying to find clients."'

"That's the spirit. Now, any questions for me?"

'"Where are you from?"'

"America. Land of the free because of the brave." I say, tapping the flag embroidered onto the shoulder of my greatcoat.

'"I've never heard of America. Is it one of those towns out in the Grimmlands?"'

"Nope. It's actually on an entirely different planet." We enter my room.

'"No, really, where is it?"'

"I just told you."

'"Oh really then? If it's another planet, how did you get **here**?"' I sit down on the bed and Neo sits down right next to me.

"I just woke up in the forest one day. I didn't remember who I was. I remembered my skills, and basic things like math, science and history. Except, it was a different history; the history of a planet without Grimm, Dust, Auras or Faunus. A world that housed about seven billion people. And a world that had gotten pretty damn good at killing things, usually for stupid reasons. But I'd have to say that a distinct lack of murderous evil beasts more than makes up for that. All I had on me was a phone, my pistol, and five seven-round magazines. Beowolf almost got me before my soon-to-be little sister showed up. A few months later, I had a new family And the rest, as they say, is history."

'"You're really telling the truth? If you're from a world without Faunus, then how come you're one?"'

"I have no clue, but I am. I'd have to say that it's much cooler being a Faunus though. Better senses and elf ears are pretty cool. And the tail, although I'm still kinda getting used to having one."

'"Alright then."' Neo looks at me.

"Wanna go see the town?" I ask, pulling a small metal box from under the bed and removing something.

'"What was that?"'

"A mag for my pistol. I still have a couple from back home so I'm keeping one on my person at all times. They're actually a bit more powerful than the standard propellant around here. I can actually punch through a Beowolf's skull armor with one of these." I say, sliding the mag into a pouch. "So, anywhere you want to go?" I ask, twirling a knife idly between my fingers.

'"I haven't been to the movies in a while."'

"Alright then. Let's go." I say, leading Neo out of the room. "Going to see a movie Dad. We'll be back later." I say, hearing him and Qrow snicker a bit as we leave. "Heathens." I mutter as we leave, Neo actually walking for once. Soon we enter town and reach the movie theater: Royal Cinemas. "Anything look good to you?"

'"That one looks cool."' She points to a poster.

"Son of a bitch." I say quietly. I walk up to the ticket booth. "Two tickets for that one please." I say, pointing at the poster.

"Sure thing dude, here you go." Says the man working the booth, who both looks and sounds surprisingly like V.I.C. from Red vs Blue. A few minutes later we're sitting in the theater staring at the screen.

 _SARGE 2: SARGE HARDER_

I sit in my seat, my expression one of pure joy while Neo just looks at me strangely.

'"Are you ok?"'

"I have never been better."

[A couple of hours later.]

"Best. Movie. Ever. Of all time." I say, walking out of the cinema with Neo.

'"I've seen better."'

"Quiet you. You're ruining the moment."


	33. Chapter 33

Ch33: You guessed it

(Saturday, Y+1, M+4, D+25)

'"I'm hungry. Do you know anywhere good to eat around here?"' Neo asks.

"I know a place. Small, nice staff and great food. I used to go there a lot before I left for Beacon." I say, leading the way.

'"What's that symbol on your coat mean?"'

"You mean the flags? The ones on my shoulders?" She nods. "They're the flag of my home country. They usually use that placement on the uniforms of military personnel. I figured that I might as well do that too. Help remind me where I came from."

'"Do you miss it?"'

"Sorta. I don't have any memories to it, or any emotional connections. I just know that it's where I'm from."

'"Would you go back?"'

"If I could travel freely. That is, without the whole amnesia BS happening every time."

'"Really? You wouldn't want to leave? Go back home?"'

"Back home is here. This place, Patch, has been home for as long as I can remember. And why would I want to leave? All of my friends and family, albeit adoptive family, are here. Plus, this place is quite fun." I say, as we arrive at the restaurant. We walk in and get seated at a small table next to a rather large window.

'"I can see why you like this place. It's calm. I haven't been somewhere this peaceful in a while."'

"It's nice to hear that. Honestly, when I first met you I was expecting some sort of slasher-meets-serial-killer-meets-psychopath. I mean, why else would Junior have sent someone he barely knew or trusted to some random house with some random package and the warning not to tell anyone?" I say, "But honestly, you've turned out to be quite an interesting person to spend the day with. Especially if the other option is my sister who looked quite ready to rip me limb from limb."

'"Gee, thanks."'

Before I can reply the waiter, a rather tough-looking guy by the name of Slate, comes up to take our orders.

"Hey Kurt, nice seeing you back here, how're the sisters?" He asks.  
"They're alright. Yang's kinda angry with me." I say. "You see, a friend of mine got quite drunk and decided to send some pictures that were taken out of context. Yang saw them and well… she punched clean through a solid metal door." I elaborate. "I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking." I smirk.

"Never a dull moment with you Kurt. Now, what'll you two be having?"

I get a steak and Neo gets some sort of pasta dish. The waiter leaves and our conversation continues.

'"What were those vehicles in your garage?"'

"I made them… Sort of. The red one I took the framework from a truck and added armor, a better engine, and some other surprises. The other one, the big one, I built from the ground up, with the occasional piece of old construction equipment used for the turret and the treads. Unfortunately, after the first time I used it, during The Breach, the main cannon kinda… failed. Catastrophically. As in the breach exploded and sprayed fragments across the turret. Suffice to say that I shouldn't be building any gun with a caliber measured in inches." I say, with a bit of an embarrassed chuckle near the end.

'"Oh. That sounds cool. Why'd you make the big one anyway?"'

"I wanted to make a tank."

'"Tank? You mean like the storage device?"'

"I guess I'll explain later. After we eat." I say as Slate delivers our food. We quickly begin to eat, discussing various things; movies (mostly _Sarge 2: Sarge Harder_ ), books (Neo has, at some point, read _Ninjas of Love_. No… just, no) , the Grimm (Ursa cavalry anyone?), the finer points of unarmed combat (and countering said finer points with a rifle's buttstock and bayonet), whether or not replacing the entirety of the Lower Vale Council (effectively the American Senate and the British Parliament smashed together into an unholy union) with inanimate objects would make the government run more efficiently (we decided it would), and the history of Earth.

"And then we managed to screw it up." I say, managing to sum up most of history in five words.

Neo giggles a bit.

"But hey, it honestly could have been much, much worse." I say, before the waiter delivers the bill. "I've got it." I say, pulling my wallet from within my greatcoat and shelling out the required amount of Lien, with a tip for the waiter.

"Thanks Kurt. You and your girlfriend have a nice day now. Remember to stop back sometime." Slate says as we leave.

Neo and I both blush a bit at that as we leave, but we don't correct him.

''I'm tired." Neo says with a bit of an evil grin.

I chuckle a bit as she climbs onto my back, her legs around my midsection and her arms over my shoulders and once again uses me as a form of transport.

'"You're not complaining."'

"Is that disappointment I'm hearing?" I reply.

'"Maybe."'

"Well maybe it's because you don't smell like booze this time." *sniff* "You smell kinda sweet… kinda like ice cream actually."

'"Aww. Thanks."'

"Well you do. It's actually quite fitting."

She just nuzzles into my shoulder. '"You're nice."'

"Well I don't see any big reason not to be. You were a merc, you did what you did for the pay."

'"And because it was fun."'

"Well now you get to be a huntress in training. There's more work but you don't have to worry about the authorities."

'"And there's you."'

"What about me?" I ask with a chuckle, people look at us weird as I walk down the street. I admit, I would probably think I were crazy if I saw me on the street right now. But I don't care.

'"You're nice to me. it's been a long time since someone was actually nice to me."'

"So what'd you think of the restaurant?"

'"I can see why you like it. The waiter's nice."'

"Yeah, Slate's a nice guy. He looks tough but he's a teddy bear at heart. I wouldn't want to piss him off, though."

'"Are you dating anyone Kurt?"'

"Not yet."

'"Slate seemed to think you were."'

"Are you trying to go somewhere with this?" I ask with a smirk, knowing full well where she was trying to go.

'"Have you ever thought about it?"'

"Not until recently."

'"So who's the lucky girl?"'

"Someone who's very close to me."

'"Emotionally?"' She rests her head on my shoulder. '"Or-"'

"Both." I say, turning my head to look her straight in the eyes, her face almost touching mine.

'"Hey there. You're cute."'

"You too." She stares right back. "Ya know, you'r- mmpph. Hmmm."

'"You talk too much."'

"And you seem to have found a way to fix that." I say, after a few seconds of stunned silence, once she breaks the kiss.

'"It seems I have. You're not used to this sort of thing, are you?"'

"What gave that away?" I ask rhetorically, before taking a peek at my watch and turning towards home. "It's getting late. We'll be going back to Beacon tomorrow. Hopefully my sister will have cooled down enough. Hopefully she'll have stopped seeing red." I say, with a light chuckle.

'"Really, Kurt."'

"Hey, I'm happy. It's kinda a new experience for me, this whole relationship thing. It's a wonderful thing. I'm just getting used to it."

'"Just don't make too many puns."'

"Yeah, I'll try. Hang on, we're going home."

*bamf*

"Hey Dad, Qrow! We're baaaaccckkk!" I say, opening the door and walking into the family room. "The hell?" I ask, seeing Qrow on the ground massaging his shoulder next to a shattered coffee table, my father standing over him victoriously sipping a beer.

"Your uncle challenged me to an arm-wrestling match." He smiles widely. "I won."

"And you broke the coffee table how?" I ask.

"It's a long story. Why do you look so happy all of a sudden?"

I just smirk and point over my shoulder to Neo. "I just got a girlfriend."

"You sure do move fast Kurt. "

"You're taking this a lot better than I expected."

"Kurt, I've long since given up trying to figure out why you do what you do, all I've figured out is that you do what you want and you don't let anyone force you into doing something else. I respect that." He says, tearing up a bit.

"Thanks Dad." I respond.

"I am also incredibly drunk."

"Nice try dad. I'm not smelling much booze on you. Qrow, on the other hand… I can smell why he challenged you." I say as Qrow continues to massage his aching shoulder, using his Aura to heal it faster.

"Night Dad."

"Night Kurt. try not to make too much noise."

"I don't think we're that far along Dad." I chuckle a bit, carrying Neo to my room. "I'm a fighter, not a lover." I call over my shoulder to him. I enter my room and Neo gets down. I stretch and hear my spine pop a few times. "Ahhhhh. That's better. The bathroom's down the hall. Second door on your right." I tell Neo, taking off my greatcoat and stacking my armored plates in a duffel bag. She stays behind, staring. "You're not getting a show, if that's what you wanted." I smirk, giving Neo a cheeky smile.

She just smiles back and walks off to the bathroom. I close the door and change into my pajamas, a dark blue shirt and black gym shorts. Soon after Neo returns from the bathroom and I leave to quickly shower and brush my teeth. A few minutes later, I re enter the room, seeing Neo sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting.

"Lonely?" I smirk, walking over to my nightstand and plugging in my scroll to a recharger. I select a playlist and press _play_. Music starts to play from the device. A whistling tune echoes.

'"Why are you playing music?"'

"I find it helps me sleep. It's calming." I say, as the whistling is replaced by the sounds of metal.

'"You find this calming?"' She asks, as a deep voice starts to sing.

"Yes. I have no idea why I find this kind of thing calming, but I do." *Crosses grow on Anzio, where no soldier sleeps and Hell's six feet deep.* "This is from a band back song is called _To Hell and Back_. The band's called Sabaton." I say, climbing into bed. Neo climbs in soon after and makes herself comfortable, using me as a pillow and dropping off into a deep sleep. I smirk and fall asleep to the sounds of metal.


	34. Chapter 34

Ch34: Family Visits

(Sunday, Y+1, M+4, D+26)

I wake up with a groan and the first thing I notice is Neo laying on her side, resting her head on my chest. I check the time on my scroll, it's 8:46. I should get going, it's going to be a long day.

"Neo, wake up. We're going back to Beacon today." I say, tapping her shoulder.

'"Uuugghhhh. Five more minutes."'

"I'm getting up." I say, sitting up. Or, rather, I try to. Neo rolls onto me and prevents me from sitting up.

'"No. Bad pillow."' I just sigh.

*Bamf* I appear standing next to the bed as Neo snaps her head to stare at me, an evil glare in her eyes.

"C'mon, get up." I say, holding out an arm to help pull her up. "Just a sec." I say, grabbing my black bullet and stabby/slashy-thing resistant undersuit, my greatcoat, weapon belt and my HUD glasses. I bamf to the bathroom and quickly change, before bamfing back. "You ready?" I ask, grabbing the duffel bag full of my armor and equipment. I sling it over my shoulder and hold out my hand. "Hey Dad! We're going back to Beacon! See ya!" I call out as Neo places her hand in mine.

"Alright, see you later." I hear Dad reply, over the groan that I assume is Qrow suffering the aftermath of a ludicrous amount of alcohol.

"Hang on Neo." I say.

*Bamf*

"IVAN!" I shout as we appear in The Cave a split-second later.

"Five more minutes." I hear him groan from his hammock. I sigh, and pull something from my greatcoat. I pull the pin and cook the device for a second, before tossing it towards the hammock. The freeze grenade detonates, freezing Ivan in place in his hammock. "I'll give you ten." I say, walking away in slow motion, through the remains of The Cave's door. "C'mon Neo, you've got to make your peace with my sister. I don't want to wake up every morning to the sound of Yang punching through a solid metal door." I shiver, remembering a beatdown that started with an absurdly strong woman bashing her way through a metal door. 'Yeah, don't want that to happen.'

'"Do I have to?"'

"If you do I'll take you out for ice cream."

'"Hmmm… Deal."'

"C'mon then, daylight's a-burnin'."

'"Alright."' She jumps up on my back and hangs on.

I chuckle and start walking.

We make our way to the dorms and enter the building.

"Hey look at this Dove! It's Kurt, what a mutt. Who's that slu-" I hear Cardin say to Dove as he sees me.

*chack* In one swift motion, I draw Marxman and unerringly point it at a point right between Cardin's eyes without even turning my head. "You have something to say Cardin?" I ask him. he remains silent. "Don't be shy, I won't bite." I say, not even bothering to turn my head. He remains silent. "I thought so. Watch who you insult next time, they might not be as merciful as me." I say with a smirk, holstering Marxman and going on my merry way.

'"You're so sweet."'

"You're welcome. It helps that I've dueled him with a shovel before. And won." I say with a smirk.

We make our way up the stairs, to the Team RWWBY (but not for long) dorm.

*Knock Knock* "Special Delivery for Miss Rose!" I say with a deeper than normal voice.

"Yay!" I hear Ruby shout from inside, along with the noise of her running to the door.

She opens the door and sees me. She looks confused, then happy, then a bit confused, then happy. "It's Kurt!" She says, successfully completing a short-range tackle-hug.

"Yeah, it's me. Can I come in please?" I ask, (unsuccessfully) attempting to pry Ruby's arms from my torso. She lets me go and opens the door, letting me in. I see the rest of the team staring at me, and then at Neo, and then at me and then I'm staring down gun barrels. "Wonderbar. Ficken wonderbar." I say annoyedly. Something feels off. Almost like something's missing. "Could you put those away before someone gets hurt?" I ask, still annoyed. The girls lower their weapons, but do not stow them.

'"Is it safe yet?"'

"Wait, can't you-" I pause for a moment, tapping Neo. She shatters. "You little coward." I say under my breath, "It's as safe as it's going to be Neo." I call out, she (hesitantly) walks into the dorm from the hallway. "Coward." I mutter. She glares at me. I glare back.

"Umm. Kurt? Why is she here?" Ruby asks, while Weiss and Blake (barely) manage to hold Yang back.

"It's a long story." I say, sighing, before I proceed to explain how I met Neo and what happened the night after the Breach. "And then when I woke up, Ivan decided to take some pictures. And you know what happened after that." I say, after quite a long explanation.

"But why were you sleeping with her?" Yang asks through clenched teeth, having been persuaded to sit down on her bed.

"I was too tired to argue. I'd just fought off at least two small armies that day so I was kinda tired. All I cared about was going to sleep. And then you decided to punch my door down, so I didn't really get much time to explain." I say, still a bit annoyed.

"Where were you?" Weiss asks. "We spent most of the day looking for you."

"I went home. Dad and Qrow say _hi_ by the way." I say. "Don't blame me, you're the ones who didn't think to call." I point out.

"I-uh, ummm. Shut up." Weiss stammers.

"But yeah, we went to Patch and had a day on the town. We walked around, saw a movie and went to dinner. It was actually quite relaxing." I say.

"Sounds like quite a date you two had." Blake says with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, it was nice." I say.

"You WHAT!" Yang shouts, the room getting uncomfortably hot.

"Yang. Do try not to set the room on fire, that would be most… unpleasant." I say flatly.

She and I stare each other down before she finally cools off.

"As I was saying, Ozpin accepted her to Beacon along with Ivan. On a related note: Ozpin will likely be making an announcement tomorrow. And on an entirely unrelated note, Neo and I are a thing now." I smirk, picking up Neo and hugging her. "She's actually quite nice when you get to know her." I say, before setting Neo down. "Neo?" I ask, pointing to Yang.

'"Can't you just tell her?"'  
"No, I can't." I say to Neo.

'"But she's your sister."'

"Yeah, and you're the one that fought her." I say.

'"*Sigh*"' She visibly sighs. She slowly walks over to Yang and smiles nervously, writing something down on a nearby slip of paper and handing it to my sister.

Yang sighs. "I still don't like you." She says.

"C'mon Neo, we've still got to get a few things to do."

"Like what?" Ruby asks.

"Well, Neo needs a school uniform, a scroll, a few odds and ends, some more clothes, and a weapon." I list off. "Most of that stuff could probably be found at her place, but if Torchwick or the White Fang know where it is, that may not be safe." I add offhand. "So we must be off. C'mon Neo." I say, as we walk out. We walk to the Student Assistance Office to pick up Neo's school uniform and scroll. After that, we make our way to The Cave to design Neo a new weapon. When we arrive, I see that the door has been replaced, with a message taped to it. _I've taken the liberty of reinforcing this one, Ozpin._ The note reads.

"How nice of him." I say, opening the door. "Ivan, you awake now?" I call out, before looking around and seeing him shivering in the corner, a blanket wrapped around him.

"Poshel na khuy, mudak." He stutters, soaked to the bone.

"Are you alright pal?" I ask, getting concerned. He looked like… 'Kurt you fucking idiot. You didn't unlock his aura.' "Shiẞe. Ivan, I'm sorry buddy. I forgot to unlock your Aura. I'm just gonna do that now, if you don't mind." I say, rushing over to him and pulling him into a standing position. I place one hand on his temple and the other over his heart.

"What are-"  
"I'm unlocking your Aura. Quiet. Just focus." I tell him, as we both close our eyes. "We are the shield that guards the innocent. We are the sword that slays the foe. We are the best of friends and the worst of foes." I search within Ivan, trying to find the spark that is his soul. It's actually quite an interesting experience, virtually impossible to describe with any accuracy. "We do not die in vain. We are the light in the darkness, we are **warriors**." I recite the invocation of the warrior with determination, as I find the spark and pulse some of my Aura into it. I open my eyes. I'm glowing a deep blue color and Ivan is glowing maroon. As the glow dies down Ivan stops shivering and stands a bit more steadily. Suddenly I feel tired, very tired. "Woah." I say, stumbling a bit. I grab onto Ivan's shoulder and use it to steady myself. "Sorry, that took a bit out of me. But the good news is that you've got an unlocked Aura now. I am going to take a nap now." I say, managing to trudge over to my hammock. And fall face-first into the floor. "Ow." I mumble, managing to stand back up and climb into the hammock.

Neo walks up and stares at me for a second. I smirk and make room for her. She climbs in and I drift off to sleep, holding her close.

[An hour and a half later]

"Well, that was a nice nap. We should work on your weapon Neo. Wouldn't want my girlfriend going out to fight the Grimm unarmed." I chuckle, climbing from the hammock with Neo.

'"Sure, I guess."'

"Alright. What do you want?" I ask, walking over to my drawing table and laying down a sheet of planning paper. '"I want another parasol. I know how to use one already, so I'll stick with what I know how to use."'

"I think it would be best for you to carry two weapons: a parasol like your first one and another weapon, maybe a small shotgun or a carbine. Maybe a high-caliber SMG."

'"I want to work on my parasol first."'

"Your wish is my command, my dear." I say with a smirk. "But you could borrow something from the armory if you want to. That is, until you get your own gun."

'"How long should it take to make my parasol?"'

"It should take maybe two or three days depending on how much free time we get. You'll have to do some of the work as well, in order to form an Aura-bond with the weapon."

'"Oh, so what I'm hearing is that I get to spend three days in a hot, sweaty room doing manual labor."'

"Do you want a weapon?"

'"Good point."'

"So, you want to-"

* _Red like roses fills my dreams_ *

"Just a sec." I tell Neo, answering the call. "Hey Rubes. What's going on?"

*"Hey Kurt, Dad and Qrow called, they're arriving soon. We're at the landing pads."*

"Alright Ruby, we'll be right there." I say, hanging up. "My dad and uncle are arriving at the landing pads soon, along with the other visitors for the tournament. Hang on." I say, pulling Neo up right next to me.

*bamf*

"Hey girls, we're here. When does everyone arrive?" I ask the girls, stepping from my usual cloud of smoke.

"Five minutes." Weiss says a bit icily. She's still quite a bit angry with me.

"Thanks." I say,turning to look out over Vale. In the distance I could see easily a dozen airships coming in from pretty much every direction, all about the size of the airships that took us to Beacon. "Yeah, I'd say that's five minutes." I say offhandedly, as we wait for them to arrive.

'"Why are all of these people coming so early? The Vytal Festival isn't for a while."'

"Because they want to see their friends, family and fellow hunters. Plus it's a nice excuse to run around playing tourist for a while before the big crowds come in." I say, idly twirling the C-100 between my fingers. "So, Neo, do you have any idea of who exactly was in charge of Roman and his operation?" I ask.

'"Some lady named Fall. She didn't give me much else other than the time, pay, job description and location."' 'Good.'

"Did you get a good look at her?"

'"Good enough to recognize her."'

"Good. I've got the feeling that we're going to run into each other again soon." I say, as the airships draw nearer. "I'd say they're a good klick, klick and a half out."

Soon the airships are docked and the boarding ramps open, allowing the various passengers to exit their airships. I quickly spot Dad and Qrow getting out of one, a smaller intra-city flight.

"Dad! Qrow!" Ruby shouts, zipping over to them and hugging the pair. Yang walks over to say hi in a more… sedate manner. What interests me more, however, is the expression on Weiss' face. She is so surprised and confused that it's almost overwhelming. I shake my head a bit to clear it.

'"Is something wrong Kurt?"' Neo asks me, looking surprisingly concerned.

"I'm alright. I'm not sure what's up with weiss though." I say, watching as she just stares at one of the transports, a rather large, expensive one that appears to be Atlesian in manufacture. She just stares at it, trying to process. "Vale to Weiss. Anyone home?" I ask, walking over to Weiss and waving my hand in front of her face.

"Wh-wha?" She mumbles, staring. "Hey! Stop that!" She finally breaks out of her trance and gives me a cold stare. Blake finally looks up from the book she's been reading.

"Are you alright? You spaced out there a bit." I ask, actually a bit concerned.

"What's she doing here?" Weiss asks almost silently, the only reason I could actually hear her was due to my wonderful enhanced senses.

"What's who doing here?" I ask, looking in the same direction as her, and spotting someone who looked surprisingly familiar stepping from the large Atlesian transport, along with a small crowd of fancier-looking people. behind her are two figures wearing light gray hard-plate, full-body, combat armor with blue accents and markings. Both wore full-face helmets with rather large, black visors taking up most of the front of the helmets. Both carried high-caliber bullpup ARs with some sort of underbarrel launcher along with rather large pistols, combat axes, and a rather impressive number of grenades and combat knives. "I have no idea who those two are, but I already like 'em. finally, people who understand a proper kit." I say appreciatively.

Apparently the other passengers appreciate this, however, as they tend to stay as far away from the pair as they possibly can. The sole exception being the woman they appeared to be escorting. The woman and her guards make their way over to us, I look to the side to see Qrow staring at them, slightly agitated. As the group approaches us, I can tell that the woman in the lead that, now that I think about it, looks a lot like Weiss. 'Waitaminute! Winter! That's who she is! I think she's Weiss' cousin.'

"Winter? What are you doing here?" Weiss asks.

"I'm here to see my dear sister and her team participate in the Vytal Tournament." She says, in a way that makes me think that that's not the only reason she's here. The escorts, on the other hand, keep their heads on a swivel, constantly watching the crowds. And, suspiciously, me. In response, I stare back at the leftmost escort.

'"Are you having a staring contest with somebody wearing a helmet?'" Neo questions a bit amusedly.

"Yes, I am." I reply, causing the others to look at me with anything from confusion to a look that practically screams _are you crazy_. I just continue to stare down the helmeted person.

"Are these your teammates?" Winter asks Weiss, looking at me, Neo and Blake.

"Kurt and Blake are. My other two teammates are over there." She says, pointing us out, before gesturing towards Ruby and Yang, still talking to Dad. Winter turns to look at them and I notice that Qrow has left. 'Strange.'

"And what about her?" Winter asks, referring Neo.

"Actually, Weiss was sort of wrong when she said that I'm on her team. Apparently tomorrow Ozpin will be announcing the creation of a new three-person team. Team K(rak)IN, to be exact. But, to answer your question, Neo's my teammate/girlfriend." I say, smiling widely, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer.

'"Hey!"'

"What?!" Weiss almost shrieked. "When were you going to tell us?!"

"You remember when Yang punched down my door?" I question.

"Yes."

"Well I **was planning** to tell you an hour or two later that day, but we all know why that didn't happen." I turn to Winter. "Now, what I'd like to know is who-" I catch a glint of light from one of the roof of a nearby dorm about three-hundred feet away. I catch a glimpse of a person holding something in a crouching position. 'What's that- SHIẞE.' "SNIPER!" I shout, drawing Marxman and bringing it into a two-handed grip, pulling back the hammer and flicking off the safety. Winter's guards quickly push her down to present a smaller target and move to block her from the sniper's line of fire.

*CRACK CRACK CRACK*

I fire off three shots, more in the hope of disrupting the sniper and scaring them off. The figure appears to jerk back a bit and slump over. "Holy Shiẞe. I got him. Just a sec, I'm gonna check it out." I say, quickly sliding a fresh mag into Marxman.

*bamf*

I reappear on the rooftop, Marxman held at the ready. I quickly spot the sniper, what looked to be a female Leopard Faunus, if her tail was anything to go by, dressed in a White Fang uniform, with her back to an HVAC, grasping a bloody wound just below her right shoulder. "Sooo. how're ya doing?" I ask, almost cordially.

"Who-who are you?" She asks, obviously in a good deal of pain.

"The guy who shot you. Duh. Who were you trying to kill?" I ask.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because I asked you kindly."

"Hah! You naive human, why would that-"

*CRACK* I place a round right next to her head. "Because if you tell me, you'll have a much higher chance of surviving."

"I'll tell you nothing."

I calmly walk over to her and press my boot sole into her wound. "Who. Were. You. Trying. To. Kill." I demand, pressing harder with each word.

She shouts in pain. "The Schnee. I. Was trying to kill the Schnee."

"Which one?"

"The taller one. But you'll do too." The edges of her mouth curl upwards in an evil grin. I see a red dish-orange glow in her palm. 'Blast Dust crystal.' I grin in return.

*bamf* We reappear a yard above the ground, a few yards to the right of Neo. *thud* "Augghh!" The White Fang assassin screams in pain as she hits the ground.

"What the! Oh, hi Kurt." Weiss says.

"I think I may have captured us a sniper." I say, "Somehow I managed to wing her from about one-hundred yards." I say. "Thank you Mister Colt." I say quietly, Marxman aimed straight at the sniper's face. "Now." I stare at the sniper. "How did you know she'd be here?" I ask, my voice calm and emotionless. The others stay noticeably silent.

"I'll never tell."

"How did you know she'd be here?" I grind my boot into the wound. She gasps in pain. A small crowd is forming around us.

"I'll nev-aaaughggh!"

"How did you know she'd be here? I mean, not even her sister knew she'd be here."

"I'll never tell you, _human_." She almost spits out that last word.

"Human? Who ever said I was human?" I ask calmly.

"No self-respecting Faunus would save a Schnee."

"I'd like to think that no self-respecting Faunus would stoop so low as to attack innocent civilians, but I guess we're both disappointed." I say, grinding into her shoulder with my boot. "Now, tell me how you knew, or I shoot you in the kneecap." I say, still emotionless, my stare cold.

"He-he said a-aaauuuggghhhhh!"

"Who said?"

"A-Adam"  
"How did he know?"

"A spy, he said. A spy in beacon told him." She groans out. I step off of her wound and move a few steps away. "Get up, and keep your hands where I can see them. We're going to the infirmary to patch you up. Don't want that wound to get infected, would we?" I say my attitude entirely at odds with the gun that I'm pointing at the back of her head.

"What?" The sniper asks, confused

"Oh, yeah, one last question. Do you surrender?"

"What?"

"Answer the question."

"Yes, I surrender." She sighs, defeated.

"Good." I say, spotting a small group of Atlesian soldiers running up to us. "You four. Yes, you. Take her to the infirmary, she's surrendered. And would one of you mind making sure that she hasn't got anything lethal left on her?"

"Ummm. Alright?" One of the soldiers says.

"She is to be treated decently, I don't want to hear that she's been summarily executed or treated unfairly. We're better than that." I say, walking back to where Neo, Dad, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Winter, and her escorts were located.

"Can somebody please explain what just happened?" Yang asks, a bit confused.

"I spotted a White Fang sniper up there." I point to the rooftop. "I took a few potshots and managed to wing her, I bamfed up and brought her back down here for questioning. Turns out that there's some kind of spy who has info on Winter; the White Fang knew she'd be here and decided to send the sniper out to assassinate her. Fortunately I spotted her before she shot anyone." I say, safely lowering Marxman's hammer and reengaging the safety.

"So, Winter, who are your two friends?" I ask, gesturing to the pair of guards. They turn their heads slightly to look at me.

"They've been detailed to guard me." Winter says, sounding a bit angry.

"We're PMC's sir. Miss Winter is designated as a High Value Asset by our company, so we were detailed to guard her." The guard on Winter's right, now obviously a male, says.

"Yes, they were." Winter says icily. I notice that the Schnee logo does not appear at all on her clothing or on the guards.

"What company would that be, if you don't mind me asking?" I ask, crouching down to police my spent cartridges.

"The Alpha Company sir." The guard on the left says, now obviously a female. "PMC and military tech company. here's our card." She hands me a small white business card, which I slip into my greatcoat

"I thought Winter was-"

"I'm not. Father dearest disowned me." Winter says spitefully.

"Oh, I'm sorry I-" I say, a bit embarrassed.

"Don't be. he's a horrible, horrible man."

"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks, catching the attention of a few people walking by. I quickly stare them down and they leave.

"I was going to tell you later. When we were somewhere less… public." Winter replies.

"Oh." Is all Weiss says.

"C'mon Neo, we've still got to make you a weapon." I say, heading back towards The Cave to collect the plans.

'"Why don't we just teleport?"'

"Keeps people guessing."

'"Who?"'

"I dunno, but there's probably somebody watching." I say offhand.

'"You're paranoid."'

"Hey, it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you." I crack a smile.


	35. Chapter 35

Ch35: K(rak)IN

(Monday, Y+1, M+4, D+27)

[Auditorium, Beacon Academy]

"Today I have an unusual, although not unheard of, announcement to make. As many of you may know, we currently have a five-person team here in Beacon, Team RWWBY." Ozpin says, as the portraits of Team RWWBY appear in the air behind him. "Due to the addition of two more students in the past week, a new, three person, team has been formed." Ruby's, Weiss', Blake's, and Yang's portraits disappear, leaving mine. My portrait is soon joined by two more, blacked-out portraits. "It is my pleasure to introduce to you team K(rak)IN." I step onto the stage followed by Ivan and Neo, to the confusion and excitement of the students assembled. Ozpin had called for all students and faculty to gather in the auditorium for a special announcement. As we step onstage, Ivan's and Neo's portraits are revealed. "Led by: Kurt Wagner." Ozpin says and I crack a smile.

'Hey, I'm a team leader now. Woot.' I calmly turn around and march off stage, my new teammates behind me. 'Guess the secret's out. Neo's with us now. Cinder and her crew won't be so happy about that. Sucks for them I guess.' I smirk, waving my team to me. "C'mon we've still got class to go to. I think it's History with Oobleck."

[History Class with Dr Oobleck.]

"Today, students, we will be talking about the long and bloody history of humanity and the Grimm." Dr. Oobleck says, zipping around while sipping on a coffee cup. "First records of human-Grimm interaction are sparse, but they are mostly in ancient texts concerning the northern continent of Draconis. Yes, the continent was once home to the mighty and cruel kingdom of Draconia. In fact, the rulers of Draconia were so cruel and strict that the word Draconian came into being simply as a way to describe them. It is from this continent that the Grimm first originated. The kingdom of Draconia was the first to fall, before long the four surviving kingdoms realized that they would be the next to fall to this almost demonic threat. It has been theorized that the kingdom of Draconia was, in some way, responsible for the advent of the Grimm threat." He says, standing still behind his desk, a rare occurrence to say the least. He refills his coffee cup from his thermos that he keeps on his desk, and then launches into a recount of the major events concerning the Grimm since their advent. Notable was that after every war, Grimm would undergo a notable increase in both number and aggression. In fact, the years following the Great War were known for the hordes of Grimm rampaging across the world, destroying many villages and fortified towns. Locations that had just survived the greatest war known to Remnant were swarmed by the numberless hordes of Grimm. But, eventually the Grimm concentrations normalized and they became less aggressive. Just the same as had happened for the war before that, and the one before that, and the one before that. Eventually, after they'd done untold amounts of damage and taken innumerable lives, they would stop attacking and head back to whatever pit of hell they spawned from. Or maybe not, maybe they were just waiting for the right- *RINGRINGRING* 'And there's the bell. Wonderbar. I was just getting into that train of thought.'

[Dueling Class with Professor Goodwitch]

"Well done Mister Arc, congratulations." Goodwitch says. Jaune, barely, managed to best one of our classmates, a boy using a sickle-sword with an integrated shotgun. "Now," She says as Jaune and the boy leave the arena. "Who would like to fight next?" She asks.

"I'll go." I say, standing up. I haven't taken part in a match in a while, so I might as well get back into it. I walk down to the field, checking my weapons on the way. When I make it to the field, I put my helmet on and bring Blue Death up, leaving the safety on and pulling back the charging handle. "And would anyone like to challenge him?" Goodwitch asks. A single hand raises from the rest of the class.

"I will." Mercury Black says.

'Great, I've got to deal with _this_ guy.' I quickly snap the C-100 onto the front of my AR, 'I'll just have to cheese this I guess.' I think, making sure that I have everything ready one last time as Mercury descends from the stands.

"The fight begins in three." Mercury just stands there. I pull a cylinder from my greatcoat. "Two." I hook a finger through the pin. "One." Glynda's almost finished counting down. Mercury sports a self-confident smirk. "Begin!" I yank the pin out and lob the grenade towards Mercury. He dodges to the right and stands there. I smirk. Using vocal commands, I set my visor's polarization to its max and turn off my helmet's audioreceptors. The flashbang goes off, disorienting Mercury for the precious few seconds I need. I reset polarization and reactivate the audio receptors as I bring Blue Death up to fire, dropping to one knee to steady my aim. As the sights hover over him, he raises his head and looks at me, still apparently disoriented by the flashbang. As I pull the trigger he ducks, managing to dodge my first burst. I reacquire him. And he dodges it. And again. And again. 'He's getting closer. Scheiẞ. Time for plan B.' I pull another grenade from my coat and pull the pin. Mercury speeds up, to keep me from throwing it for fear of hitting myself. If that were my plan, anyway. I drop the grenade and make sure my armor's filtration systems are working and switch to IRNV. In a few seconds the grenade starts spewing thick white smoke, which I had made sure was opaque to the naked eye but perfectly clear to IR gear. 'Can you dodge what you can't see?' I fire off a burst as Mercury stops just in front of the cloud, presenting an easy target. He catches the first burst full on before charging into the smoke, trying to find me. I produce another cylindrical grenade, smirking and dropping it.

*bamf* I teleport to the opposite side of the field and reload Blue Death. I drop to one knee and aim for the cloud of smoke, which has taken on an off-white/yellowish tinge. Mercury soon stumbles from it, coughing and hacking, right out of bounds. "Well. I was kinda hoping that that wouldn't happen. But I guess you take what you can." I say, as Goodwitch announces my victory by ring-out. "Shame, really." I mutter, safing my weapons and emptying their chambers.

[Evening, Team K(rak)IN Dorm]

"Well, it's nice to finally have a bed to sleep in." Ivan says, falling onto one of the four beds in the room.

'"Want to share?"' Neo asks me, sitting on one of the beds with a smirk as i start stacking my armor in a corner.

"Sure, I've just got to pick something up from The Cave. Just a few books I left down there." I say, hanging up my greatcoat and weapon belt, keeping a few knives on me for good luck.

I make it halfway to the hangar complex when I get the feeling that I'm being watched. I quickly turn around, a small throwing knife at the ready. And nobody's there. 'Weird.' I turn around, knife still in hand, and pick the pace up on my way to The Cave.

*THWACK* 'PAIN'

*thud*


	36. Chapter 36

Ch36: The Emperor Protects

(Tuesday, Y+1, M+4, D+28)

[Location Unknown]

"Wo ist hier?" I mumble, slowly coming to.

"The hell does that mean?" A familiar man's voice asks. I find it quite annoying.

"What's he saying?" Another man says, again I find his voice familiar

"Wo ist hier?" I say, louder.

"What are you saying?" The first man's voice asks again. I raise my head, finding myself chained to a wall.

"Where. Am. I." I say, seeing both Adam Taurus and Roman Torchwick standing before me. "You two look rather pleased with yourselves. Whoop dee do, you've chained me to a wall. But if you really think-" I try to bamf back to the dorms, but I can't. I try The Cave, nope. Beacon, nope. I can't even bamf to the city of Vale. "...You cunts." I say.

"Woah kid, watch your language. You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Torchwick mocks.

I just chuckle darkly.

"I must admit, I'm a bit impressed you managed to capture me. Even working with a fool like him. But I won't be staying here long. And weren't you supposed to be in jail Torchwick?"

"What can I say, I've got a lot of experience getting out of jails."

"And to answer your question Kurt; where you are does not matter. Because you won't be leaving alive." A grimage is barely noticeable on his face. "When I come back, I will be asking you questions. If you want to avoid a slow, painful death, then I would recommend that you answer them." Both Adam and Roman leave the room, closing and locking a rather heavy-duty metal door..

I take stock of my situation: I can't teleport, I'm dressed in a pair of shorts and a dirty, white tee-shirt with multiple disquieting stains, and my arms and legs are chained to a wall. I can't move more than a couple of inches in any direction. 'Wunderbar. Well, frakkit, I might as well pass the time.'

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall."

Forty-seven bottles of beer later Adam walks in with a pair of White Fang mooks and Torchwick.

"Forty-six bottles of beer on the wall, forty-six bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around." I continue singing, ignoring my captors entirely. Piss them off enough and they'll make a mistake. They make a mistake and I can get the hell out.

"Why did you help the mercenary?" Adam asks, raising his voice to try to drown out my singing.

"Forty-Four bottles of beer on the wall." I continue to sing. He tries to ask a few more questions as I continue to sing over his words. He punches me in the gut. I decide to shut up.

"That finally shut you up, huh?" Adam asks irritatedly. "It hurts, doesn't it? When you can't use your Aura to protect yourself." Adam asks acidly.

"Go take a-"

*THWACK*

"How do you know the mercenary? Why did you come to her aid?" Adam asks loudly.

"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567." I reply calmly.

"How do you know Neo?" He repeats, punching me in the gut again.

"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567."

"Answer me and I'll stop hurting you."

"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567." I stare into his eyes defiantly. "That all you got Taurus?"

He pulls a dagger from his jacket and slashes it down my chest.

"AAAGGGGHHHH!" I scream out, "Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567." I say once more.

The process repeats a few more times, with Torchwick and the mooks also getting the chance to beat me with clubs and rubber truncheons. Eventually they get tired of the process and leave. I'm alone in my cell, chained to a wall for two days without food and, more importantly, without water.

(Friday, Y+1, M+4, D+31)

I hear the door open and lift my head to see Torchwick and Adam walk in with a pair of mooks behind them, they are carrying a few knives, a large Dust battery and leads, and a strange suitcase.

"Are you ready to answer our questions Kurt?" Adam asks.

"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567."

"Who do you work for? The Valean Army? The Atlesians?"  
"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567."

"Shock him." He tells the mooks. They attach the leads to the battery and then to me.

It hurts. A lot. I scream in pain as I feel myself fry. They remove the leads.

"You're probably wondering why your Aura isn't protecting you, why your semblance doesn't work." Adam says, before staring at me.

"Amongst other things." I reply.

"We've obtained Aura and Semblance-suppressing drugs and techniques. We've blocked all use of your Semblance. You can't escape, no matter how much you want to, you're never getting out of here. Now, I'll ask again: who do you work for."

"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567."

The cycle repeats itself many times, Adam asking me questions that I don't answer and ordering the mooks to torture me in various manners, and Torchwick just watching. Eventually Torchwick gets bored and leaves me alone in the room with Adam. The mooks leave their various tools in the room for Adam and decide to take a lunch break or something.

"It pains me to harm a brother faunus so." Adam says.

"..." I just silently stare at him.

"If you tell us what we want to know, I might be able to get them to spare your life."

Adam then proceeds to spew copious amounts of bullshit about the White Fang and how the Faunus are being oppressed by humanity and should rise up to claim their rightful place as rulers of the world, how I should totally join the organization etc, etc, etc. He goes on like this for A FRAKKING HOUR before I interrupt.

*cough*"Bullshit."*cough*

"Excuse me?" Adam asks, showing very distinct signs of anger.

"Bullshit. The White Fang is a load of bullshit. It's pathetic really. It is a perversion of a once peaceful organization that now spreads hate instead of attempting to bring an end to it. The White Fang is doing more to hurt the Faunus as a race than any number of racists ever could! And on top of THAT, the White Fang is a failure! You can't even manage to capture a single city, much less cause any significant damage! Hell, a literal pile of shi-" *thwack* 'Alright, might've gone a bit far with that. But that's no reason to stop. If I'm gonna get out of here, I'll need him to make a mistake.' "I've fought your so-called soldiers before, and they fell before me like wheat before a farmer's scythe. They were pathetic! The closest any of your people have ever gotten to harming me was barely even scratching my Aura! That fucker was barely three yards away from me and he had the element of surprise. In the time it took him to barely even hit me I put a frakking round between his eyes. And-"

Adam starts making incoherent noises of anger. I have no other way to describe it. He grabs a rather large knife from the table of bloodied instruments that his mooks had left for him. He menacingly walks up to me, knife in hand. "If you can't learn to respect your heritage that we have fought so dearly to uphold, then you don't deserve to display it." He says, walking behind me.

"What are y-AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!" I bellow in pain, feeling the knife slice my tail off. A split second later, I'm unconscious.

I wake up to see Torchwick and Adam arguing.

"You could have us the entire operation with that stunt. If he'd out bled too much, it could have flushed enough of the chemicals out of his system to- Oh, he's awake." He says. "Now, would you care to answer our questions Blue?" He asks.

"Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567." I reply, noticing that the place where my tail used to be is bandaged to prevent me from bleeding out. 'Well, how nice of them to keep me healthy before they kill me. Bastards.

"So, talking kid? Maybe this'll get you to talk." He says, gesturing to a mook, who leaves and rolls in another prisoner, a man dressed in ruined Atlesian infantry fatigues, strapped to an operating table. 'This doesn't look good.' Roman Torchwick walks out and comes back a second later carrying a silver briefcase, smoking a cigar.

"Thanks to some of my contacts, we have been able to procure a certain… medicine that the SDC was working on for a while before scrapping the project." Roman says, opening the strange silver briefcase and retrieving a small syringe filled with a pale light-blue fluid. The syringe reads SDC Compound CD-003. "This is a medication designed to increase the patient's speed of thought and boost higher brain functions. Unfortunately it had some… unintended side effects. Mainly that it fired all of the patient's synapses randomly and erratically, causing a rather long and painful death. As this fine gentleman will now demonstrate." Torchwick says, walking over to the Atlesian. The soldier, hearing what Torchwick said, starts thrashing madly in an attempt to break free and possibly escape his death. The mooks held him down and Torchwick injected the contents of the syringe into the soldier. He calmed down for a few seconds, before he started to wildly thrash about and spasm uncontrollably. A few minutes later he was dead, bleeding from the ears and nose.

"Now, are you going to co-operate."

'No matter what they're going to kill me. They told me that when I woke up the first day. Knowing them, they'll probably just inject me with the stuff anyway. Might as well get this shit over with.' "Captain Kurt Wagner, service number 634-41-8567." I speak my death sentence.

"Are you sure about this kid?" Torchwick says.

"Go fuck yourselves." I say, 'Maybe they'll carve that into my tombstone. If they're courteous enough to give me one.'

Adam sighs. "I had hoped that you'd see reason Kurt. But now I see that it's too late for you."

Roman just smirks and produces another syringe.

"It's comforting to know I'll be killed by a group of psychopaths following proper medical procedure." I snark, I'm certain that these will be my last words.

Roman injects the needle into my arm. I feel a strange, powerful, sensation, followed by a sharp, burning pain that quickly engulfs my body. 'Well. It's been a nice run.' And then I feel nothing.


	37. Chapter 37

Ch37: You done goofed

(?)

[?]

'Holy shit. I'm not dead. And I can see. My eyes are closed and yet I can see clearly. This is wierd. I can see it all. I lie in the room where I died. Outside stand two marked for death. I feel alive once more. I can feel my power.' I slowly stand up, feeling my newfound power. "WUNDERBAR!" I shout aloud, feeling the power at my fingertips. "HEAR ME NOW! HEAR ME TORCHWICK, TAURUS AND ALL THE OTHERS! DEATH COMES FOR YOU NOW!" I scream in a voice that is my own and not my own. A voice that could be heard in the very soul. I can see it now. The drug worked, just not how the SDC thought it would. Whatever Dust they used, it unlocked the power within my soul. Now I know why I could hear her, now I knew. The guards outside get over their pants-shitting fear and manage to point their ARs in the general direction of the door. 'Let's try out my new powers, shall we.' I knock down the door and walk out, an evil grin on my face. The guards shake in terror.

"You-you died!" One stutters. "I watched you die!"

"Obviously I didn't." I reply, my voice echoing menacingly. "Now die." I say, as they start to scream, blood flowing from their eyes and ears. I chuckle darkly, picking up one of their ARs, slinging it over my shoulder and heading through the halls. To where I could feel them. I march through the underground White Fang compound. It's inside of a mountain, somewhere to the southwest of Vale. About one-fifty or two hundred klicks, I'd guess. I continue to march through the compound, they're setting up a barricade just around the next corner. I can see ten of them, all armed with ARs behind a barricade of metal boxes. Let them cower.

I walk around the corner and face them.

"Why hello!" I say, my grin widening. "Do any of you have a line to you leaders? That Torchwick bitch? Or even that psychopath Taurus?" I ask them. "A scroll? An intercom system? Whoever gets me in contact with one of them or the whole group will get to live. Am I clear?" I say, cracking my knuckles. The mooks raise their guns. They open fire and the rounds all go wide. I pull their aim from my body, some of their guns jam, some misfire, some all but explode in their wielder's hands, and some simply fall apart. "Oh dear, it seems that your guns are useless. How inconvenient." I laugh. "But you did refuse my incredibly gracious offer. And now, you die." I chuckle, walking slowly up to the barricade. Three of them try to flee, they face the same fate as the two standing outside my former cell. Four of them charge at me. I pull the AR from over my shoulder and double-tap each of them, the rounds landing right between their eyes. One tries to run while he thinks I'm distracted, he suffers the fate of the other cowards. The remaining two cower behind the barricade, which I easily fling away with a wave of my hand.

"Now, would either of you like to take me up on my previous offer. Time is limited." I say to them, rifle resting over my shoulder.

"I won't tell you anything." One of the mooks, a female deer Faunus says.

"Alright then deerie." I say, shooting her between the eyes.

"The-there's an intercom i-in th-the room over there." The other mook, a male Faunus of indeterminate heritage says. "I-it's the communications center. So, d-does tha-that m-mean I get to live?" He says, almost begging.

"Sure." I say, placing my left hand on his face, four finger tips resting on his forehead and my thumb pressing onto his chin. "You can live." I say, as his eyes widen in fear. I breathe in and then slowly let the breath out. Then I reach inside him with my mind and tear out his soul, throwing it into the dark void. I leave behind a shivering wreck, curled up in a ball.

Next I walk up to the door the mook had indicated, seeing twelve mooks inside, all working at consoles. Fortunately there is a large viewscreen on the wall opposite the door. 'Good, I'll be able to send my message.' I force the door open, pushing it aside easily. I walk into the room and take in the looks of fear and confusion on the faces of the twelve mooks. "Who knows how to work these consoles and the big screen on the wall?" I ask, seeing three hands rise. "Alright then." I say, as the other nine mooks crumple to the ground, blood flowing from their eyes and ears, their brains crushed. "Now, would you be so as kind to call up whoever is in charge of this facility?"

They hesitate for a second, gazes alternating between me and the corpses of their comrades.

I turn to look at the screen, seeing my reflection in the glass. I look the same as usual, with the exception of the various new scars and bruises on my face, and the fact that my eyes are issuing a thick dark-blue smoke that rises before rapidly dissipating about an inch above my eyes. 'Odd, it's not impeding my vision. if anything, I can see better than ever.'

They quickly connect the screen to something or other and I see a small room appear on the screen. Adam, Roman, some faunus that looks important, and a pair of mooks are sitting at a table, discussing something and pointing to various markings on a map of Vale.

"I think that we should concentrate on..." Roman says, looking up and seeing me on the screen. I smile widely. "Oh shit." He says, his face full of fear.

"What are you-" Adam asks, before looking to whatever screen is in their room. his jaw drops.

"You done goofed." I say, chuckling darkly. "Didja miss me!?"

"You-you're dead. You died yesterday! What are you?" Torchwick asks, almost hysterical.

"Kurt Wagner, at your disservice. You really shouldn't have killed me. Turns out whatever you did gave me some fancy new abilities. I've been killing your little minions with them for a bit now. I can taste your fear from here, by the way. It's delicious. I will be signing off shortly but know this; I am coming for you. And when I find you, no force on this planet will be able to stop me. Not the Grimm, no army on the face of this planet, not the White Fang, and certainly not you! I will rip your very souls from your bodies and leave you to rot in a cell, never to be found or remembered." I say calmly, making a cutting motion with my hand and pointing to one of the mooks working the screen. he gets the message and cuts the feed. "Now, would you mind leaving? I have a few personal calls to make." I ask. The mooks quickly get up and bolt out the door. I pull the door closed behind them, engaging the deadbolt. I walk over to a console, selecting a few settings and typing in a number.

A ringing noise can be heard and the words video-call connecting appear on the large screen. A few seconds pass before someone appears on the screen. I see Yang's head and shoulders, her face turned away from the screen.

"I don't know, that Ivan guy just said that Neo wouldn't stop crying yesterday. She wrote down He's dead on a piece of paper and curled up into a ball. She won't let go of that blue cloth thing he wore around his waist or his jacket, either." She says to someone offscreen. She appears to be in my part of the team RWWBY dorm, standing in the middle of the room.

"It's a greatcoat, actually." I say, smirking. Yang stops what she was about to say and slowly turns to look at the screen.  
"Wha-But? How?" She says. "Kurt, you're." She mumbles.

"Yes, I'm alive. Would you mind getting a hold of Ozpin? I'm kind of in need of a ride at the moment." I feel a few people leave the compound. 'Dammit, they got away.' I see her eyes go wide.

"How? What? Where? Kurt?" She starts asking questions but can't form any coherent sentences.

"It's a long story. Suffice someone managed to knock me out and take me prisoner. I'm in some sort of White Fang compound about two-hundred kilometers southwest of Vale. And it appears that I've unlocked some sort of latent psychic powers."

"Well, I guess that explains your eyes." Yang says, her shock at seeing me starting to be replaced by relief.

"Who is it?" I hear Ruby call from offscreen. "You looked weird there for a second." I see her face edge onto the screen. "Who are you talking tooo…" She trails off upon seeing me. "Kurt?! Ohmygoshwethoughtyouweredeadwherewereyouareyoualrightwhatswithyoureyesareyoual-" She starts to wordvomit.

"Ruby, I'm White Fang took me hostage and brought me to an underground compound. I got psychic powers and made my way to the communications room, and then I called Yang up. Now, if you wouldn't mind getting Ozpin. I need someone to get me out of here." yang starts to walk out of the room holding the scroll. "Actually, nevermind. We can talk when I get back" I say, running over to a console and pressing a few buttons, sliding a few levers and selecting a few things. The screen goes black as i cut the transmission.

"I've set this to transmit white noise on full power,even if I don't make it out, someone'll take this place out." I say, closing my eyes and reaching out to find someone.

'"Neo. NEO!"'

'"Kurt! I thought you were-"'

'"It's a bit of a story, but I'll try and give you an idea."' I use my newly awakened powers to give her as complete an idea of what's been happening as I can.

'"Oh. I'll be there soon. I've just got to get a few things."'

'"Just get here soon. It's getting lonely here."'

'"See you."'

'"See ya."'

I turn to the screen. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got some work to do."


	38. Chapter 38

Ch38: Curb Stomp

(Y+1, M+5, D+2)

[White Fang compound Comms Center]

"Now, where were we?" I ask aloud, turning to the left and staring at the door to the comms center. On the other side were fourteen White Fang specialists, Faunus that actually had military-type training, setting breaching charges on the door. I was busy contacting Neo so I had been unable to sense the specialists, now stacked on either side of the door and ready to breach.

I sigh, preparing for battle. I reach out with my senses. 'Oh, they've got hand grenades. Let's have some fun.' I take cover behind a console, psychically pulling the pins from all of their grenades simultaneously. Their leader stops mid-countdown and stares in horror at the pins and spoons scattered across the floor. 'Four.' They start panicking. 'Three.' Some start to run, others fumble with the grenades, trying to throw them away. 'Two.' They're not moving fast enough. 'One.' Most of them panic even more, but a few make peace with themselves and face their deaths with dignity. I can respect that. 'Farewell misguided souls. Maybe I'll see you on the other side.'

With a thunderous noise, the grenades detonate, along with the explosives on the door. I step to the side as the door flies by, smashing into the massive screen in the process.

I feel a rather small someone tackle me.

'"I missed you."' I hear.

I pick her up and kiss her full on the lips. A few seconds later, I break the kiss. I chuckle as she blushes.

'"It's nice to see you too."'

I take a few seconds to look at her, her face is streaked with dried tears and I can actually feel the remnants of her grief. My greatcoat is hanging over her shoulders and my blue sash is tied around her waist. She had dropped a few things when I picked her up: my weapon belt, my cap, my scroll, a bandolier of rifle clips… and Sasha.

"Where did you find this?" I ask, picking up Sasha as the other items float into their respective places on my body.

'"It was in a white crate in the armory. When I thought you'd… I hadn't looked before and I wanted to remember you. I found the crate and, well, why didn't you tell me?"'

"I don't know. But I think The White Death is coming back to have some fun." I walk over to a console marked intercom system and plug in my scroll, downloading a song into the system and setting it to play across the compound on an endless repeat.

The wonderful sound of METAL echoes throughout the compound as I detach my scroll sn slip it into a pocket. "Neo, could you please give me my greatcoat?" I ask, loading a clip into Sasha and pushing the bolt forwards.

'"*sigh*"' She hands me back the garment and I put it on.

"You can keep the sash." I tell her.

She just smiles happily.

"Let's go have some fun, shall we?" I ask.

*Almost night, a crimson horizon, painting thousand lakes red*

'"What's the song? I haven't heard this one before."'

"Just wait." I say, walking out the ruined door and stepping past the shredded corpses.

'"You sure do know how to make a mess."' Neo walks up beside me, holding her parasol and my White Death SMG, which looked quite similar to a P90.

"Indeed I do."

*You're in the sniper's sight, the first kill tonight, time to die. You're in the bullet's way, the White Death's prey, say goodbye!*

I sing along to the last line, as I see a group of White Fang mooks cowering behind a barricade. They knew who was coming for them.

"Seems like my alias hasn't lost any of its fear." I say, bringing Sasha up to my hip and firing, blowing out the back of one mook's skull. I work the bolt with my mind and fire again. Another headshot. Neo jumps in and opens her parasol to deflect the hail of bullets directed at me by the six surviving mooks who had finally gotten their act together. I wait for the firing to stop and Neo closes her parasol, allowing us to both open fire: Neo suppressing the mooks while I delivered headshots with almost mechanical precision. Soon the barricade is manned by a small pile of corpses.

"The rest are massing in the vehicle bay. They're trying to evacuate."

'"That's no fun."'

"Precisely." I say, motioning for Neo to come with me. As we walk side-by side down the corridors, she looks up at me.

'"Do you know why they kidnapped you?"'

"I have no frakking clue." I say, idly drawing Marxman and headshotting a mook who was trying to sneak up behind us. "However, it was quite entertaining seeing the looks on their faces when they realized that I wasn't dead. I think Torchwick shat himself. They managed to get away just after I made the call though. But I'm going to find them."

'"I think it would be fun to return the favor to the people who tried to kill my boyfriend."'

"It would indeed be fun." I smirk. "But we do have to get out of here first. Fortunately, I have a plan."

'"Kill everybody?"'

"And then steal some form of transport. Maybe leave somebody alive to fly it if we want an airship. It's more of a vague objective. Wait. Scratch that. Just kill everybody and then we teleport back."

'"So, what's it like?"'

"It's like I can see everything, I can pick up things a dozen yards away, just on instinct alone I can put a bullet in between someone's eyes, when they're behind me. It's quite a different experience."

'"So this is the new you."'

"Not exactly. I think the stuff they injected me with jump-started my psychic powers and is probably boosting them in some way, I can feel it starting to wear off. I'm hoping that once it wears off I'll still be able to some of this stuff." I say, levitating a clip at chest level a foot in front of me. "And the whole people-finder thing. That's cool." I say. "We've got five coming around the corner, by the way." I raise Marxman and Neo raises the snow-camo SMG, which I'd named the P45. As the mooks come around the corner, ARs held at the ready, Neo and I fill them with lead. "The vehicle bay's just up ahead. Just through that door." I point. "I think it's a side entrance." I slowly ease the door open with my right hand, Marxman held unflinchingly in the other. I sense that they're not looking at the door but I just want to be certain. '"Alright, I'd say two hundred in all. Fifty manning barricades and on patrol and the rest loading up supplies into a whole crapton of bullheads and trucks."' I tell Neo, not wanting to make noise.

'"So what's your plan?"' Neo asks, reloading the P45.

'"As usual, I'm falling back on plans B and C; hand grenades and blow shit up."' I reach into a heavily armored pouch on my belt and pull out a golden grenade just a bit larger than my fist. '"Behold! The Holy hand Grenade of Antioch. Packed full of blast dust and a stabilizing compound, with a steel shell designed to fragment into tiny pieces of shrapnel on detonation."'

'"You're crazy Kurt."'

'"Gee, thanks."' I respond dryly.

'"I never said it was a bad thing. It makes being with you more interesting."'

'"And that's why I love you."' Neo blushes. '"But, as I was saying; the plan is to toss this into the massive pile of Dust cases and ammo, wait for the chaos to die down, and then we rush in and eliminate any survivors."'

'"Sounds fun."'

'"Just keep your head down. I don't know how big the blast will be."' I warn, pulling the pin and psychically launching it towards the rather large cache of Dust and ammo the White Fang had stockpiled about three-quarters of the way across the vehicle bay. 'Five.'

"It's HIM!" I hear someone shout. 'Four.'

"Dammit." I say, jumping back inside and getting behind a convenient metal crate, dragging Neo with me and bracing as if our lives depended on it (which they did). 'Three.'

Just a second later, the door (and most of the surrounding walls) are shredded by (poorly aimed) gunfire. 'Two.' I close my eyes.

With a rather impressive explosion, the world came to pieces. I threw up a psychic shield to deflect the debris and the shockwave.

When the blast had finally dissipated, I opened my eyes and saw a scene of beautiful devastation. The vehicle bay was in ruins. Those near the center of the blast had simply been vaporized. The entire complement of White Fang were dead; vaporized by the blast, pulped by the overpressure, shredded by shrapnel, or killed by the various effects of the detonated Dust. I just stare in awe.

"Some days I wonder why Beacon doesn't teach explosives fabrication. Then I remember that I'd be that teacher's worst nightmare." I sigh contentedly, looking out over the ruins of the vehicle bay. Most of which just so happened to be on fire. "This is one of those days." I take one look over the destruction and hear howls in the distance. "Let's go. The Grimm will be here soon. All this fear and death must be pulling them in like a magnet." I say to Neo, holding her hand. "Can you take us to the dorm? I need to get kitted up."

'"Sure thing. But couldn't you teleport us too?"'

"They used some sort of drug that suppressed my semblance and Aura and I think it's just starting to wear off. So I'd rather not risk something going horribly wrong." I explain, feeling the darkness of the Grimm horde close in on the underground compound.

'"Home it is then."'

And in a flash of light, we're standing in our dorm. And I finally realize that I'm covered in blood (not all of it mine). Ivan is sitting on his bed, holding a half-empty bottle of vodka, talking with Qrow. "I mean, I feel like I should've been there. Maybe if I'd, he wouldn't-" He cuts off upon seeing me arrive with Neo. "KURT!" He shouts, standing up quickly and swaying a bit before running over and giving me a bear-hug. He smells very drunk, his accent is much more pronounced right now. "I'm sorry comrade. I'm sorry." he sobs, before holding me at arm's length. "I thought you were dead." He smiles.

"Qrow. How much vodka did you give him?" I ask.

"Just a few bottles." Qrow says, standing up and taking a sip from his flask.

I sigh. "You've been corrupting him, haven't you Qrow?" I ask with mock disappointment. He just chuckles.

"You return from the dead and the first thing you do is crack a joke. I think I'm seeing what Taiyang sees in you. I'll leave you for now, but I expect you to tell me what happened."

"Don't worry, I will. I just need to get cleaned up." I grab my undersuit and walk into the dorm's bathroom. I close the door and step into the shower, getting clean for the first time in a week, I feel my Aura start to flow through my boy once again and everything's starting to feel 'normal' again. I step out of the shower and pull on my undersuit, a form-fitting one-piece garment with a slightly padded cloth inner layer, a thin rubberized inner layer to protect from water and electrocution, and a bullet/stab-resistant layer on the top designed with magnetized clips and attachment points for my armored plates. I turn around and do a few stretches to make sure everything's still working right, and then I poke the air next to the door, seeing the image shatter to reveal a slightly-blushing Neo. I smirk and kiss her on the cheek before walking out, snapping on my armored plates, putting on my weapon belt and pulling on my greatcoat.

"So how's the Vytal festival?" I ask my teammates.

"It just started up yesterday. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN won their matches. And your Uncle fought Weiss' sister right in front of the school. All in all, this place is starting to grow on me. Even if most of their booze is shit." Ivan says.

"Alright then. I'm going to grab a few more weapons and I'll be right back. I'm bamfing this time so it should be no trouble." I say, as Neo and Ivan both stand next to me. Neo holds my hand and Ivan places a hand on my shoulder.

"No. We're going with you." He says, looking remarkably sober.

"Alright then. Hang on." I say with a smirk.

*bamf*


	39. Chapter 39

Ch39: Psyker Powers

This entire chapter is an explanation of Kurt's psychic powers. No plot whatsoever. I will start work on the next chapter after Chapter 4, Volume 3.

Ability (Power)

Telekinetic (Weak): Kurt is able to levitate anything smaller and lighter than a motorcycle. Kurt will eventually be using this often to reload guns without having to use his hands. And lob grenades.

Sensory/Awareness (High): Kurt can pretty much sense everything within a fifty-foot radius. This helps augment his already near-perfect aim and almost ensures that any single shot will land wherever he aims it. Full-auto is now slightly more accurate.

Mind Reading (Very Weak): Kurt can sense emotion. That's it.

Kurt's abilities, mostly his telekinetic and sensory, are more powerful when he is angry. When in this state his eyes emit a dark blue smoke that travels upwards and dissipates 3-4 inches up and when he speaks he possesses a dark echo in his voice. In this state he is also capable of enhanced telekinesis, crushing people's brains and ripping their souls out of their bodies. Charming, eh?

Other powers will be discovered or developed as the story goes on. These are just the ones he is capable of using now.


	40. Chapter 40

Ch40:

(Sun, Y+1, M+5, D+2)

[The Cave, armory container]

"So, the tournament started a few days ago? How'd it go?" I ask; picking up ammunition, knives, grenades, and various other gadgets, and stowing them on my person.I unclip my helmet from my belt and put it on, making sure that the various systems are working. I remove it and reclip it to my belt.

"Yeah, RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and SSSN all won their matches. We were out up against another under strength team and we made it to the doubles round, but we didn't make it to the finals. " Ivan says. "And your Uncle got into a fight with Weiss' sister."

I laugh out loud for a few seconds. "Did you get a recording of it?" I ask, cycling Blue Death through its various forms before settling on AR.

"Do you want to see it?" He asks, pulling his scroll from a pants pocket.

"Not now, I've still got to hand off some info to Ozpin and Ironwood." I say, pulling back on Blue Death's bolt and chambering a round. "Hang on." I say, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

*bamf*

"I just don't think that we should hand over tournament security to a band of mercenaries." I hear Ironwood say, stepping from my usual cloud of purple-black smoke. He stops upon seeing me, processing the fact that I'm not dead. I look around to see Ozpin, Goodwitch, Ironwood, Qrow, Winter, and some lady that I don't know.

"Before any of you say anything, I realize that I've been missing for a week but I have intel on who's in charge of the White Fang." I say before anyone can speak a word.

"You have our attention." Ozpin says, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"Adam Taurus, bull faunus if I'm not mistaken. he and Torchwick recently ran screaming from a White fang complex that is currently broadcasting white noise on all channels at full power. If the Grimm haven't trashed it yet, you may be able to get some intel."

"Go on." Ozpin says.

"He's also probably the person who decided that it would be a wonderful idea to kidnap, interrogate and then kill me." I say sarcastically, a slight echo in my voice as I say the last two words.

"Where were you?" Ozpin asks, an undertone of rage in his words.

"An underground base about one-fifty to two hundred klicks to the south-west of Vale. I thought I already told you."

"How did you get out?" Ironwood asks.

"I got Neo to come over with some of my stuff and, coincidentally, everything in the base died quite violently over the course of about half an hour." I pause for a second. "It wasn't my fault. Tucker did it."

Ozpin raises an eyebrow, Goodwitch's jaw drops, Qrow doesn't look surprised and the other two just stare. "Well then. Maybe you could explain what you meant when you said that they killed you? As far as I know, death is quite… terminal." The unnamed woman asks, a wearing white pants, a purple shirt, a white lab coat-like jacket, and a purple beret sitting on top of her equally purple hair. She's also standing quite close to Winter. I can sense a pair of wolf-ears under the beret.

"And you are?" I ask calmly.

"I'm Dr Violett Grey." She says cheerily. "I'm here on behalf of Alpha Company."

"Wait. You said your last name was Grey?"

"I did."

"You're Slate's little sister!" I exclaim.

"You know my brother?"

"Yeah; big teddy-bear of a guy, runs an Atlesian-style place down in Patch, likes to pull waiter-duty. That sound right?"

"Yep!" She says cheerily. "I guess that means that you're Kurt!"  
"Kurt Wagner, at your service." I say with a smirk. "how'd you know?"

"Ah-hem." Ironwood coughs, a bit irritated.

"Oh, yeah, right. So, there are a few key things I've learned. First: Torchwick and Adam Taurus are working together to enact some unknown plan. Second: the SDC is leaking proprietary tech like a damn sieve, Torchwick mentioned having some sort of source in the company. Finally: the White Fang has the resources and manpower to construct and defend multiple underground bases outside of the city. In the past month or so, three separate and rather large White Fang bases have been discovered outside of the city, I find that a bit disconcerting."

"Is that all?" Ironwood asks, sounding irritated. "Now, if you and your teammates would leave, we were in the middle of discussing something."

"Actually, I have a question for Winter." I say, turning to look at her. "Have you ever heard of a compound by the name of CD-003? Torchwick managed to get his hands on some and he mentioned it being some sort of failed experimental drug."

Winter's expression doesn't change. "I know that my father's company was working on a compound by that name and that was shut down in the testing phase. I didn't pay too much attention to the Experimental Pharmaceuticals Division." She says, and I sigh, starting to turn to leave. "But Violett used to work for the SDC, she was working directly on the project before she left."

"Yes, the Dust compound known as Cranial Dust, number zero-zero-three was an attempt to use a newly-created Dust formulation to improve higher brain functions in test subjects. Unfortunately the compound caused the rapid and painful deaths of all test subjects." She says sadly. "I'm guessing Torchwick managed to obtain some."

"Yeah. They used it as a method of executing people. Two days ago, I was stuck in a rather unpleasant cell courtesy of the White Fang. They'd been interrogating me for three days but hadn't gotten anything. They tried to scare me into talking by bringing in a captured Atlesian soldier and injecting him with the compound. It didn't look pleasant. I still refused to talk and they carried through with their threat, I guess they were tired with me. Next thing I know I'm lying on the floor of the cell and I've got psychic mindpowers." I say, levitating Ozpin's coffee cup and Qrow's flask and spinning them around in circles in the middle of the group.

"Oooh! I've never heard of somebody having two semblances! This opens up a whole new field of research!" Dr. Grey exclaims, overjoyed. The others just look confused. Except for Qrow and Ozpin, who are attempting to obtain their respective drinks.

"It's not a semblance." I say, returning the coffee cup and flask to their owners.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I was using it while still under the effect of Semblance-suppressing drugs. That brings up another point: shouldn't that kind of stuff be, you know, a little harder to get!?" I say, letting my annoyance with the fact that nobody on Remnant seemed to be able to properly secure and guard things that criminals really shouldn't be able to get.

"Calm down Kurt. There's no reason to be angry." Ozpin says.

"I'm sorry sir. It's just that if they hadn't been able to get those Semblance-suppressing drugs, I'D STILL HAVE MY FUCKING TAIL!" I shout, my voice echoing and my eyes flashing dark blue for a few brief seconds.

"Oh." Is all Ozpin says, I can sense near-thermonuclear levels of rage building behind his calm expression. "Thank you for bringing this information to our attention. Maybe you would like to catch up with your sisters, they're doing quite well in the tournament." Ozpin says, taking a sip from his cup. "Thank you as well Dr Grey, your company's proposal will be considered. You and Winter are free to leave." Winter and Dr Grey walk to the elevator and I motion for my teammates to follow me into the same elevator.

We enter and the door slides closed. Grey looks ecstatic at the chance to ask me more questions and Neo possessively cuddles up to me. I just chuckle and lift her up to face level, kissing her. She just smirks and latches onto me. '"Mine."'

'"I love you too Neo."'

I look to Dr Grey, who is currently trying to keep from giggling. "So Dr, I guess you have some questions you'd like to ask."

"A lot actually." she says with a smile, pulling out a scroll pad and opening a note-taking application. "What happened when Torchwick injected you with the compound?"

"I felt power. Pure, unadulterated power. I felt like I could sense everything. I could crush a man's brain within his skull. I could put a round right between someone's eyes while facing in the opposite direction. I could communicate telepathically with Neo while she was still in Vale. I could even tear someone's soul from their body." I explain, Winter and Dr Grey recoil a bit.

"Well then. That's quite… interesting." Dr Grey said, "Now, did you have any idea that you could do any of this before you were injected with the compound?" Dr Grey composes herself and quickly gets back onto the subject at hand.

"Sort of. I could telepathically hear Neo." I say, pointing at my girlfriend. "And I think it improved my aim." I say, shrugging.

"Telepathy?" She asks. I nod. "And you say that it isn't a semblance?"

"I don't think it is."

"Would you mind stopping by my lab on Wednesday so I can run some tests?" Dr Grey asks. "Asking questions is great, but running a small battery of tests would allow me to get a better grasp of what's going on in that head of yours." She says.

"Any needles involved?" I ask.

"I will need to take blood samples, but I can probably borrow an experimental IV-patch from Medical Research to achieve the same results."

"Sounds fun. So, where is your lab?"

"I'll send someone to pick you up from the airship docks at 1605." Dr Grey says cheerfully.

"Alright, we'll be there." I say, gesturing to Neo, Ivan and myself. "Just to let you know, I'm not going unarmed."

"Oh, that's not a problem. My lab is right in the middle of Alpha Company Command's complex, heavily-armed warriors are no issue. You just have to let the security personnel know what you're carrying and everything will be fine." She says cheerily. The elevator dings and the doors slide open, revealing a rather grand room which acted as the central hub for the teachers' wing of the academy. Currently occupying the room were a few teachers and staff members going about their daily business while trying not to pay too much attention to the ten-man squad of Alpha Company soldiers standing guard in full grey combat armor with black undersuits and blue trim. One sergeant, armed with what appeared to be a drum-fed automatic shotgun and what appeared to be a sword hilt, and a blue stripe running down the center of his helmet. Four soldiers armed similarly to Winter's guards from about a week ago. Two soldiers armed with what appeared to be Squad Automatic Weapon versions of the aforementioned assault rifles, sidearms, and folding hatchets. As well as a soldier with a rocket launcher and an SMG and a soldier with a DMR variant assault rifle. In other words, a rather well kitted-out squad. most of whom seemed to be directing attention to me.

"Now, weren't we going to go somewhere after this honey?" I hear Dr Grey say, turning to see her and Winter quite close to each other. 'Oh. I see it now.' I think as the two kiss.

"I think we should leave those two lovebirds alone." I say quietly to Ivan and Neo, motioning away from the pair. We make our way towards our room, talking about the tournament along the way. As we walk through the courtyard, I spot Mercury and Emerald out of the corner of my eye. I note their widened eyes and slowly turn my head to stare at them, my face expressionless.

"So when're the finals?" I ask Ivan, turning back to my teammates.

"They start tomorrow."

"..." I just stare at him, alarm bells ringing in my head. "Ivan, is your armor ready?"

"It's not painted, but-"

"Good. Tomorrow we're going to the tournament in full kit. I have a bad feeling about tomorrow." I say. "So, my Uncle Qrow fought Winter?" I ask my red teammate.

"I've got the video right here." He says pulling out his scroll.


	41. Chapter 41

Ch41: A day at the festival

(About an hour later)

[K(rak)IN Dorm]

 **AN: Didja miss me?**

"Wow. Physics just died. All of it. Everywhere." I say, after watching Ivan's video of the Qrow v. Winter fight. For the fifth time. To put it mildly, I was impressed. Even after seeing it previously four times. I look over to Neo, lying faceup on her bed that she rarely ever uses. "So, Neo, do you-" I ask, stopping when I realize that Neo isn't moving and that I can't feel her a few feet away from me. I walk over to her bed, when I tap her and she (predictably) shatters.

'" _Neo._ "'

'"I'm in your hangar."'

'" _*sigh* I'm guessing there's something you'd like to talk about in private_."'

'"Yep."'

"I'm going to The Cave." I say to Ivan

"See you tomorrow." He says with a smirk, before proceeding to screw around with something on his scroll.

*bamf*

"Hey Neo." I say, walking up to Neo, who was sitting on the couch I'd set up in The Cave's living area. "You wanted to talk, I'm guessing."

'"I missed you."' She says a bit sadly, as I recline on the couch next to her. '"I thought I'd lost you."' She sobbed into my shoulder.

"But you didn't." I hug her tightly. "And I didn't lose you." I bring our faces close together. "And nothing will ever break us apart." I say softly, kissing her deeply.

'"And one day soon-"' Neo says as we break the kiss.

'" _We'll make them pay_."' We both say simultaneously, small grins on our faces.

We both quickly break down laughing at our apparent madness.

"It's good to be back." I say after we manage to pull ourselves back together.

'"It's good to have you back."' She replies, as we drift off to sleep in each other's arms.

(Mon, Y+1, M+5, D+3)

[The Cave, way too early]

"Kurt. Wake up. Yang's match is today." I hear Ivan say, as I feel something hard jab my ribs.

"Alright, alright, I'm up. Just stop jabbing me with that thing." I say, seeing a metal pole in Ivan's right hand.

As I climb off of the couch, he tosses it to the side and hefts his weapons: his rocket-launcher that also functions as a hammer and his AR that also functions as a gun.

"You two gonna get your stuff or what?" He asks.

"Sure, just give us a sec." I say, pulling Neo up onto her feet. "So, today's the first day of finals. Ivan!" I say, pointing to him.

"Da?"

"If you were a terrorist or malcontent, what is the most likely target in the city today?"

"The Amity Colosseum, I guess."

"Precisely. And therefore we shall not let our guard down. No matter how awesome the fights are." I spin around and point at Neo. "Neo, you're going to wear some concealed armor. I was working on some for you before I was interrupted most rudely. Unfortunately all I've got for you is a chestpiece that can go under your clothes." I walk with her over to the armory and we get prepared for the day to come. "Alright, we're in Section 4, seats 6, 7, and 8 in the row closest to the field." I say, leaving the armory with Neo. I hold onto both her and Ivan.

*bamf*

"Why are we at the airship docks?" Ivan asks.

"Because I need to know where the colosseum is to actually get to it. I can't go somewhere when I have no idea where it is or what it looks like." I explain, taking a few moments to stare at the colosseum and snap a few pictures with my scroll. "Alright. Let's go." I say, bamf'ing us to the colosseum.

"Ivan."

"Yes?"

" **Now** we're on the colosseum."

"I noticed."

"Neo?"

'"Yes?"'

"You noticing anything out of place?"

'"The fact that the place is swarming with Atlesian troops and androids."'

"Precisely. I'm seeing at least a platoon of droids and a squad of stormies."

"Huh?"

'"What?"' Both of my companions question my terminology.

"Droids and stormies: Androids and Soldiers." I explain.

'"I'm not even going to ask."'

"It's a Terran thing." I say quietly. "But there's something else." I mutter. "Something just feels a slight bit off. Just a bit." I say quietly. "Be ready for anything. Especially you Ivan." I say

"Why me?" He asks, sounding a slight bit insulted.

"Because you're our plan B. B of course standing for boom." I reply, pointing at Ivan's as-of-yet- unnamed M202 FLASH/Warhammer… of death… and bludgeoning.

"Got it. Anyone want some snacks?"

"One-" Neo gives me puppy dog eyes, "Two-" Still with the eyes. "Ten cans of People Like Grapes, and I'll say maybe four large popcorns." I tell Ivan, forking over some Lien. Neo smiles happily.

"That enough?" He asks sarcastically.

"Not even close. Teleporting is actually rather tiring when you're dragging along someone with you."

"There are two of us."

"Surprisingly enough Neo doesn't affect my bamf-ing at all. It's either that she's a teleporter too or just because she's small-ish, but it really doesn't matter. We'll be waiting at our seats." I say, as Ivan wanders off to the concessions stand and Neo and I make our way to the seats.

We chat a bit and eventually Ivan arrives with our foods. We continue to chat until the various contestants line up in the arena: Yang, some guy who looked like a musketeer, Sun, some probably-Atlesian guy who looked reasonably competent (meaning he was wearing armor), a dark-skinned guy with blue clothes, gold armor and red face-paint, Penny, mercury, and Phyrra. We listened as Port and Oobleck explained how the finals worked and the spinning wheels of destiny chose Yang and Mercury as the first match.

"I don't trust that Mercury guy." I whisper to my teammates, discreetly patting myself down to make sure my personal armory was where it was supposed to be. The wonderful part of bamf-ing onto the colosseum was that we managed to avoid the security personnel which, although accepting of the fact that most Hunters are habitually armed, would have likely had some sort of minor aneurysm at the arsenal I pack.

We watch intently as Mercury and Yang trade blows in a rather awesome battle. Mercury does this weird breakdancing/bulletstorm thing and the (literal) whirlwind of shots all hit Yang full-on, leaving a cloud of smoke and dust. I wince a bit. 'That's gonna hurt.' Mercury calmly turns away with a smirk on his face, not bothering to even check if Yang is out. Soon he regrets that mistake as the cloud dissipates, revealing a rather pissed-looking Yang. She makes short work of Mercury and it looks like she even shatters his Aura.

'"And suddenly I'm a lot more scared of your sister."'

"Yeah, she can have that effect." I chuckle as Yang is declared the victor. I watch as she walks away, something feels off. Part of me is seeing her walk towards the exit and part of me sees her walking in a circle around mercury as he sits on the ground. Mercury leaps, and at the same time stays still. Yang blocks with Ember Celica, firing into his leg as she does so. And at the same time she fires into his leg without provocation.

"Problem." I say. Suddenly I feel like something else is wrong. I don't know what but soon the sensation passes and I can see Yang being surrounded by two stormies and eight droids.

I can neither see nor sense Qrow, Ozpin, Goodwitch, or any of the other teachers, only Oobleck and Port.

Neo and Ivan are sitting speechless. After she busted our door down, I'd made both aware that Yang was a perfectly safe person to be around unless you messed with her hair or threatened her friends or family. This was entirely unexpected.

"What the hell just happened." Ivan asks.

"I don't know but this doesn't feel right. seriously, something felt… off. I don't know what." I say shivering a bit. I can actually feel the anger, disgust and shock. It feels horrible.

I see one of the Atlesians disarm Yang as the other handcuffs her. They lead her out of the stadium, hands behind her back and several guns pointed at her. Meanwhile Mercury is being carried out on a stretcher by a pair of medics provided by the Vale Hospital System.

"Something wrong Kurt?" Ivan asks while Neo looks at me a bit concerned.

"I can actually feel the hate and disgust. It's rather unpleasant." I shiver again and stand up a bit hesitantly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain calm and exit the colosseum in a calm and orderly fashion. The tournament will restart tomorrow. Do not worry, " Dr. Oobleck says over the PA system. The crowds quickly start to file out to the colosseum's airship docks, and I move to find RWBY and hopefully prevent them from doing anything stupid. I quickly find RWBY, Ruby, Weiss and Blake all sitting in their seats trying to come to grips with what they just saw.

"Why would she do that?" Weiss asks, shocked.

"There has to be some reason." Blake responds, equally shocked, while Ruby is still processing.

"C'mon, let's get to Beacon." I say to them. "You can talk to Ozpin and maybe get this sorted out."

"Are you alright Kurt?" Blake asks, looking a bit concerned.

"Not really. Just being close to so much hate and disgust." I wince. "Is actually becoming acutely painful." I brace myself on Ivan, a painful grimace on my face. "So I'm going back to Beacon, if you girls want to follow then be my guest." I say, standing up straight and walking towards the airship docks nearest to Beacon, attempting to conceal my discomfort as much as possible.

"Wait up!" Weiss says, Blake and Ruby following her as she comes up beside me. "Winter's this way, we can go with her." She points towards Winter, Dr Grey and their guards. Also with them is a soldier wearing black armor with red shoulders and accents. And a small flag painted onto the left side of his chestplate. 'Wait. Wait. What. That's. I know it's nordic. Oh holy shit. He's a Swede.' I stop dead in my tracks as the realization hits. 'We're not alone. Somehow, there are at least three Terrans on Remnant.'

''Kurt? You alright?"' Neo asks, looking up at me. I shake my head a few times to clear it.

"Yeah, just a bit of deja vu." I say, tapping Ivan on the shoulder. I wordlessly point to the black-armored soldier. He looks to the soldier, then back to me. Then back to the soldier, blinks a few times, and looks back to me with a questioning look on his face.

Neo just looks at the two of us like we're a bit insane.

I shrug and follow Weiss as she goes up to her sister. Weiss reaches Winter and they begin to talk, I'm just standing around with Ruby, Blake, Ivan and Neo. Dr Grey sees me and smiles happily, she walks over with the black soldier in tow.

"Hello Kurt!" She says in her normal happy tone. "We were going to head to Beacon later today to talk to your headmaster, but I guess now's as good a time as any." She says, before dropping the happy tone and leaning in to say something. "I'll see if I can pull some strings to keep Yang out of trouble. I may have been fired from the SDC but I've still got some friends on the inside. I trust what your sister did was entirely abnormal." She whispers. Out of the corner of my eye I see Blake look over at us and relax a little.

"Quite. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed what happened." I whisper back. Both Grey and I are Faunus so I guess she wanted to keep this secret. "Off the record, what happened felt weird. Something felt off about the whole thing. Not much but that's what my mindpowers-magic-psychic craziness tells me. Not that I can prove it in any way, but keep an eye out." I say. "If you need a marksman, you know who to call." I say with an exaggerated bow. Grey laughs a little.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could do us a favor while we talk to your headmaster?"

"What's the favor?" I ask suspiciously.

"We just need you and your teammates to show someone around Beacon. We're trying to get him enrolled into Beacon as a transfer student from one of our special operations training programs." She gestures towards the soldier. He walks over and removes his helmet, revealing a rather light-skinned teen about our age with short-cropped blond hair.

"Sven Hall. Alpha Company." He says, snapping a salute. Grey smiles and walks over to her girlfriend.

"Kurt Wagner. Beacon Academy." I say, and return the salute. "These are my teammates, Ivan and Neo." I gesture to my teammates. "And we are team KrakIN. I guess we're showing you around today. Sorry if I seem a bit off, but most of the people here are some level of disgusted or angry and it's rather unpleasant for me to be around." I say, somewhat morosely. "By the time we get back to Beacon I should be feeling much better."

"So. I guess we're saving questions for the trip?" Sven asks.

"Yeah. C'mon." I say, waving for the rest of KrakIN to follow. RWBY, Winter, Dr Grey, and their guards are heading towards their airship and none of us want to be left behind.

Soon we reach their transport. It appears to be a Bullhead gunship with a multi-barreled chaingun mounted under the nose, missile pods under the wings and two pintle-mounted miniguns sticking from the sides of the troop bay.

"Oooooh. Fiiirree suppooorrtt. Glorious fire support." I say, admiring the sheer beautiful firepower.

"I guess you're the team weapons-nut." Sven says with a small smirk.

"Hey. It's pronounced _firearms enthusiast_." I reply, twirling one of my combat knives in my right hand. I toss it up and down a few times before sheathing it on my thigh plate. "To me, going to an armory is like going to an art gallery. I take my weaponry **very** seriously." I say, smirking as we board the ship. "How'd you get this thing. Something tells me that this shouldn't be legal."

"We registered it as _heavy-duty farming equipment_." Grey says a bit too cheerily.

I break out laughing. "How does that even work?" I ask after I've finished laughing.

"I honestly don't know." Sven says, shrugging. "But sometimes it's best not to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"We're almost there." Ivan says, pointing out the open bay door. Just past the pintle-mounted, rotary-barreled buzzsaw is the much less interesting sight of Beacon Academy.

"Alrighty then." I say as the Bullhead lands. "The Beacon Academy grand tour begins now." I say, clapping my hands together as we step off of the ship.

"So I'm guessing these are the airship docks." Sven says.

"Da." Ivan answers as we walk down the road to the Academy itself.

"So, welcome to Beacon. Vale's training academy for aspiring Hunters and Huntresses. Most of whom much prefer to use melee weapons instead of sensibly reducing their opponents, usually in the form of soulless monsters who prefer to close to melee-range, into meaty chunks at range. Despite the fact that most of their weapons are at least part firearm." I exposit.

"Grand looking buildings and minimal defences. And this is supposed to be an academy for training warriors?" Sven asks as we near the entry to the Academy proper.

"Considering the fact that everyone here is combat-trained to some extent, it's rather defensible. Even the janitors, surprisingly."

"Our janitors are combat trained."

"How combat-trained?"

"We rotate our base security between patrolling and janitorial work."

"That's cheating."

"You're just jealous." He says as I lead the group into my favorite building on the campus.

"And this is the Forge." I say, as we enter the building. The entrance is a massive storage area for components and materials. The rest of the building is a complex of rooms, each a miniature forge that contains everything a student can use to create their own weapon. There are three other rooms, however, that I find much more interesting. The first is the testing range, the place you go when you want to make sure that the weapon you just built won't explode on you. The second is the fabrication room, filled with machines able to fabricate anything from stamped-metal ARs to rounds of all shapes and sizes. The third, and my favorite, is the Primary Forge. This is where the Forgemaster, one of Beacon's most valued teachers, does his work. Beacon Academy's Forgemaster is Forgemaster Stahlfaust, most of us just call him Stahl. Stahl is, without a doubt, my favorite teacher and the only person who spends more time in the forge than I do. He can usually be found helping students forge their weapons and armor properly. He always makes sure to remind his students that a shoddily-crafted weapon can easily ruin your day.

"This is Forgemaster Stahlfaust, if you need help building anything you go to him." I say, gesturing towards the Forgemaster, who is currently trimming a piece of metal on a lathe. He looked up, saw us, and turned the machine off, placing the tools he'd been using on the table behind him and walking over to us.

"Wagner." He says, pulling his gloves off. He looks us over. "I know those two." He points to Neo and Ivan. "But who's he?" He points to Sven.

"Sven Hall, Alpha Company Private Military Corporation. Pleased to meet you sir." Sven says, holding a hand out.

"Nice to meet you too son." He shakes Sven's hand. "I guess you're his new teammate."

"Nobody told me that." Sven and I say simultaneously in almost the same tone. We both look at each other and smirk.

"It just seems that you pick up strays left and right. You used to be in a five-person team, then you find him in some White Fang compound," Stahl points to Ivan, "Then you and Ivan pull her out of some massive firefight with the White Fang." He points at Neo. "I guess it's lucky for Remnant that teams are usually just four people. Maidens know how much damage there'd be if you found anyone else to save." Stahl chuckles. "Anyways, you've been out awhile, what've you been doin'?"

"I got captured and tortured by the White Fang." I say, a bit angrily.

"Oh. If you ever need to talk to someone Kurt, I'd be more than willing to sit down with you." Stahl said. I could tell that he meant every word.

"I will, maybe we can talk it over next time I drop by." I say to Stahl. "But right now I've got a lot to do. See you around Stahl." I say, leading my team to our next stop.

(A little while later, outside hanger B-17)

"So Sven, this is the last stop on the tour. The Cave. My own little home-away-from-home-away-from-home." I open the (reinforced) door. "Welcome." I say, stepping into the room and sweeping my arm across the hangar.

"Did you make those?" Sven points to Da Trukk and a stripped-down, mostly disassembled, Raider.

"Yep. That one's being scrapped for parts." I point to The Raider. "It didn't work as well as I would have liked so I'm going to make something else. I call the other one _Da Trukk_." I point to the large red MRAP with _WAAAGH!_ daubed on the side in black paint. "It can fit 10 people and two crew. Driver and a gunner. Armed with twin .30-06, belt-fed miniguns." I say, in a car-salesmansy voice. "Technically I used a few jeeps to make it, so the really complicated parts aren't custom."

"That's still pretty cool." He says, impressed.

"And that brings us to the next point. The armory." I walk over to the shipping-crates. "it used to just be one of these crates, but I took out a few walls and tripled the size." I say, opening the door and flicking a recently-installed light switch, illuminating racks of weapons, crates of ammunition, and a few suits of armor on stands near the back.

"And suddenly I feel like I'm back on base." Sven says, "Where'd you get all this?"

"Most of this stuff I made in The Forge. Most of the cheap ARs are on extended _loan_ from the White Fang."

"So you stole them." Sven remarks.

"I borrowed them with no intention to return them. After I killed them of course. It's not stealing, it's battlefield salvage." I defend. "Either way, I've got enough guns to fight off anything short of a tank company."

"Cool."

"Yeah, I used to have a **lot** of free time. Now I have a team to lead, so I've got a little less time." I look at my watch, built into my armored vambraces. "Hey lookit that, time to check out the caf."

"Dinner?" Ivan asks.

"Yeah, today they're serving Mantle Forest Cake and some other Atlesian stuff. It's been awhile since I've had good Atlesian food and I'm not going to miss out."

A few minutes later we're sitting at a table with RWBY and JNPR.

"So, Sven, is it?" Pyrrha asks, Sven nods. "I've never heard that name before. Where are you from?"

"Up north."

"Atlas?"

"Falun." He sees Pyrrha's confused expression. "Small town outside Atlas. Rather cold."

"That sounds nice." Pyrrha says, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Not really. It was boring." Sven says, sounding a bit bored. "Nothing to do. Being a merc is much more fun." He smirks, before digging into his food, preventing further conversation.

"So, Kurt where've you been this past week?" Jaune asks, not noticing team RWBY all motioning for him to stop.

"I was kidnapped by the White Fang, tortured, killed, and then I woke up and _**killed**_ _**them**_ _**all**_." My voice gains a dark echo on the last words and my eyes flash dark blue for a second.

"Oh." Is all Jaune can say. JNPR sits there stunned, even Nora is quiet.

"I also found out I'm some sort of psychic. Somehow." I say, lifting up a knife with my mind and setting it back down. "It's been a strange week." I say nonchalantly. "So, how've your weeks gone?" I ask.

"Pyrrha made it to the finals!" Nora says, quickly snapping back to her upbeat self.

"Nice job Pyrrha." I say. "Do Beacon proud." I say, raising my glass in salute.

I hear a faint ringing coming from Sven. He unclips his helmet from his belt and puts it on. A short time later he takes it off and stands up. He looks at me. "Ozpin requests our presence. Just us two." he says as Ivan, Neo and I stand up. Neo and Ivan look to me and I nod. Neo and I have a short mental conversation and we smirk.

"We won't be gone too long." I say, leading Sven to the wizard's tower.

"So, what do you remember about Terra?" Sven asks.

"Not very much. Early 2010's, you know the spiel. The usual wars in the Middle-East, Putin throwing his weight around, all sorts of general craziness and news outlets treating celebrity news as if it were actually important." I say, idly twirling a combat knife in lazy circles.

"Wow. 21st Millennium. The historians are going to go _nuts_." Sven says. I just look at him, processing. "I guess that flag on your shoulder dates you, the American flag hasn't looked like that for a while. At least while it was still around."

"Ummm. You're going to have to go through this with me." I say. "Ya know, I'm usually the guy that drops these kinda bombs on people."

"Okay, from the top." Sven says, as we near Ozpin's tower. "By our calendars, this is Monday, February 1st, of the year 2641. Since you've been gone there have been four world wars, two failed world governments, innumerable small wars, technology advances beyond number, the eradication of a couple dozen diseases, the creation of a few more and a growing reliance of governments on PMCs and weapons-manufacturers."

"And I'm guessing a millennium of history that I really don't have time to learn." I say, rubbing the heel of my hand into my temple as the elevator doors close. "So, what kinda guns've you guys come up with while I was gone?"

"MBTs with railguns, standard-issue gauss weaponry, spray-on thermite, and some rather large starships."

"Sooo…"

"No, we don't sell tanks."  
"Damn."  
"But we do sell gauss tech." I smile. "But it's quite expensive."

"Do you take goods in trade?"

"That depends on what they are."

"High-quality hand-made weapons. Ballistic and melee." I say, using the salesman-type tone I put on when talking to a potential customer.

Not long after, the elevator door opens.

"It sounds like a good deal, but I'll have to get one of our Requisitions Officers to actually get everything set up." Sven says, typing something into a screen built into his left vambrace.

We walk into Ozpin's office and see Ozpin and his usual group: Goodwitch, Qrow and Ironwood standing near Ozpin's desk facing another group of individuals.

Winter is wearing a grey and blue Alpha Company dress uniform, or at least that's what I think it is. With her are five guards in grey and red combat armor, two with ARs, two with automatic shotguns, and one carrying what looks to be a drum-fed MMG. All five appear to be wearing some sort of jump-pack. To me, they look like a sort of special-operations team.

Standing in front of all of them is a single man standing at slightly under seven feet tall. He is wearing matte-black armor with purple shoulder armor, elbow guards, knee guards and weapons-belt. His helmet is clipped to his belt, revealing a weathered face scarred by innumerable battles topped by a grey crew-cut. His hardened eyes are those of a veteran who has seen far too much. His armor is rather plain, except for the aforementioned purple and his pauldrons bear the sigil of a pair of crossed golden gladii. Strapped to the left side of his back is a sword and at his hips are what appear to be matte-black Desert Eagle-type handguns. All in all, he looks every inch the warrior that he undoubtedly is. His armor displays no identifying marks aside from two rows of five small silver skulls set into the armored plate over the left side of his chest, about where the heart is on a normal person.

Currently, this unnamed warrior appears to be having a… disagreement… with Ozpin's group.

"I don't care what you say. I know that one of you currently possess something of ours. A black slab of stone, About four feet deep, four feet wide and seven feet long. Inlaid on the top is a silver version of this symbol." The warrior points to the emblem on his pauldrons. "Along with the phrase _mortis en machina_ inlaid in gold lettering above the word _Lupus_ , below which is the word _Shrike_ , both also inlaid in gold lettering. If that doesn't bring anything to mind, I have a holo of the item in question." He says, pulling a small black disk from one of his armored belt pouches and pressing a button on its side. He tosses it onto the floor between the two groups.

A large blue wire-frame box appears in the air about three feet above the disc, a shimmering blue cone of light is being emitted from it, linking the wire frame and the disc. A second after the wire-frame appears, color and detail snap into being, displaying a slowly-rotating model of the box that the soldier, I'm guessing a highly-ranked member of the Alpha Company, described. For a split second I thought I saw a degree of surprise from Goodwitch, but if it was there it disappeared quickly.

"I've never seen that before in my life." Ironwood says.

"Is there a point you're trying to make Mr. Brimstone?"

"Yes _Headmaster_." Brimstone replies, Ozpin's title dripping with scorn. "If my instruments are correct, then the artifact is directly beneath us. About one hundred meters below ground level, in fact."

I sense a level of surprise from Ozpin's group, with the sole exception of the headmaster himself. Considering the fact that I can barely ever sense any sort of emotion, they're rather surprised by this development.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ozpin says.

"We both know that's a lie." Brimstone says calmly. "Headmaster, you have five days to hand the artifact over to us or we will be forced to take what is ours. And I would hate to have to bring the resulting devastation to such a tranquil city." He says, with every sign of honesty.

"Are you threatening us _Mister_ Brimstone?" Ironwood asks confrontationally. "It would do you well not to threaten the most powerful military power on Remnant."

"I'm not threatening you soldier. I'm making a promise. And I **always** keep my word." Brimstone says. "IGNIS! Form up!" He barks out an order. At his command, four soldiers in black armor with red highlighting deactivate what I assume is some sort of personal cloaking or active camouflage device. One of the four feels different. I can't place it, but he feels different. The four, two on either side of the clock window behind Ozpin, snap to attention with a crash of armored plates. Goodwitch, Qrow, and Ironwood whirl around and stare in disbelief at the soldiers that had been standing behind them for Murphy-knows how long. Then I realized that I hadn't detected them either. There are two possible reasons for this, neither of which I like. The first is that they have some way to mask their presence to my abilities and the second is that I'm off my game. I'm going with the first one.

"Have a nice day ladies and gentlemen. I leave the rest to you Lieutenant." Brimstone says, marching out with his men, his point made.

"Prefect!" Sven says, standing at attention and snapping his right fist to his left breastplate just above his heart in a strange salute.

"Initiate." Brimstone replies, returning the odd salute. He walks into the elevator with his guards and the door slides closed. I detect a faint smirk on Winter's face.

"So, Kurt. What is your opinion of Mister Hall?" Ozpin asks me.

"He's alright. And solid soldier, if his kit is anything to go by." I say, noting the displeasure on Goodwitch and Ironwood's faces. 'They seem to be agreeing on something for once.'

"Ozpin, you surely can't be thinking about letting this mercenary-" Ironwood says.

"James, I will run my Academy as I see fit." Ozpin says, taking a sip from his coffee. "If his company wants him to train with the best to become a defender of Remnant, I see no reason to deny them that." He takes another sip. "After all, what better way to keep an eye on him than to have him under our roof?"

"And what, precisely did you want me up here for, Headmaster?" I ask, idly twirling a combat knife and then balancing it on a fingertip. "Because as interesting as this all is, I do have a lot to catch up on." I toss the knife into the air where it twirls in glittering arcs, when it falls I snatch it by the hilt a sheath it within my greatcoat.

"It was my intention to inform you that Team KrakIN is now a full-strength team. As a matter of fact, you're standing right next to your new teammate."

"Damn." I mutter.

"Something wrong kid?" Qrow asks. Sven raises an eyebrow.

"Not really, just that I lost a bet with Neo." I chuckle. 'Although, it was the kind of bet that I am more than willing to lose.' "Guess I should have listened to Stahl, I really do seem to be picking up teammates left and right." I smirk. "Would that be all, sir?"

"You two are free to go." Ozpin says with a slight smirk.

"C'mon Sven, we've got an announcement to make.." I turn towards the elevator doors with Sven. "Do svidaniya comrades!" I say aloud as we enter the elevator, tossing a jaunty salute back towards the Headmaster and his associates.

We make our way back to the cafeteria, chatting about various things: weapons technology, tv shows and books from Remnant, the past and the present, and the almost disturbing lack of fire support available to Remnant's militaries and Huntsmen.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement." I say to my team, RWBY and JNPR.

"Is tomorrow pancake day!?" Nora asks "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Nor-" Ren says.

"Oooh! Was it supposed to be a surprise! May-"

"Nora!" Ren shouts, quieting her.

"Thanks." I say to Ren. "Back to the announcement." I clap my hands together. "Team KrakIN is now a full, four-person team. And, unsurprisingly, the new member is Sven. Welcome to the team kameraden." I clap my new teammate on the back and, taking the initiative, he bows to the assembled teams.

"Thank you, thank you. It is an honor." Sven says theatrically.

"Ooh! What weapons do you use!" Ruby asks rather excitedly.

"You'll see. I'm in your duelling class." Sven explains. "I also need the rest of my kit transferred over. Replacement armor plates, special munitions, personal effects, stuff like that."  
"Knowing Ozpin, it's probably in the room by now." I say. "We never showed you the room, did we?"

"No, you didn't"

"Well, I know what we're doing next. C'mon, time to show you our dorm." I say, waving to my team to follow. "Aufedersein Kameraden." I say cheerily, yet again twirling a combat knife in my right hand.

"See you later Kurt!" Ruby says.

"See ya sis." I pause for a second. "Good luck Pyrrha, fight well." I smirk. "As if you could do anything else." I walk off with my team.

"So the red one's your sister?" Sven asks.

"And so's the yellow one with the long hair. and yes, I know we all look nothing alike. I'm adopted and they're stepsisters." I explain.  
"You get that a lot."

"Waaay too much." I smirk.

A few minutes later, we're standing in front of the dorm.

"And this is our dorm: 636. Willkommen." I say, throwing open the door. On the fourth bed that none of us ever use is a small pile of mil-spec plastic cases and a couple sets of school uniforms, textbooks, etc.

"I guess my stuff is here." Sven says.

"You don't say." Ivan remarks, "That company of yours sure moves fast."

"That they do." Sven replies with a small smirk.

Neo looks into my eyes. '"How about we go and _discuss_ the terms of our little bet."'

"Hey guys, Neo and I are going down to The Cave. **Don't** interrupt us." I say to Ivan and Sven as I leave with my girlfriend.

Ivan snickers a bit and smiles at me. "See you two tomorrow." he says. "And don't forget protection!"

I just chuckle and Neo shoots Ivan a glare. He's too busy laughing his ass off to notice.

A few minutes later, Neo and I are intertwined in The Cave, our clothes scattered around us, the door locked securely, the troubles of the world far from our minds.


	42. Chapter 42

**AN: IIIII'MMMMMM BAAAACCCCKKKKK**

 **I may be posting a bit more regularly for a bit.**

 **But probably not.**

 **Sorry, but that's just how I am.**

Ch42:OH COME ON!

(Tues, Y+1, M+5, D+4)

[The Cave]

'"We should do this more often."' Neo tells me, a grin on her face.

"I don't see why not." I say, picking up my (now fully clothed) girlfriend and kissing her on the lips. "We should get going, I don't want to miss breakfast." I say, putting Neo down so we could go and get food. I take her hand and we happily walk to the cafeteria after I text Ivan and Sven to let them know that we're on our way. I clip my helmet to my belt and we head on our way.

A few minutes later, we walk into the cafeteria and grab our food. Neo and I head over to our usual group of comrades, and we sit down right next to each other, Neo leaning happily on my right side.

"Sooo Kurt, how was last night?" Yang leers.

"Ivan." I say, turning to my comrade.

"Yes Kurt?" He responds, smirking.

"Five." I say, coldly staring at my traitorous teammate.  
"Ummm." Ivan responds.

"Four." I pick up a can of soda and toss it up and down a few times.

"Shit."

"Three." I stand up, forcing neo to quickly rebalance herself.

"Shitshitshitshitshit." Ivan says, quickly getting out of his seat and rushing to get to cover.

"EAT SODA CAN YOU COMMIE BASTARD!" I shout, throwing the can at him as hard as I can. He quickly grabs a tray from a nearby table and tries to bring it up to block the can. He fails. The soda can hits him square in the chest and explodes in a grape-flavored cloud of carbonated beverage.

"Yess! Another food fight!" I hear Nora shout. 'Dear Murphy what hath I wrought.'

"Not again!" I hear someone shout, as pretty much every other student in the cafeteria bolts for the exits. Those who don't soon catch on and follow as fast as they possibly can.

I quickly grab a stick of bread from behind me and snap into two equal halves, holding the one in my left hand normally and the one in my right hand in a reverse grip. RWBY and JNPR Split to different sides of the room. Neo and I follow RWBY while Sven and Ivan follow JNPR.

Neo picks up a swordfish, twirling it much like her own umbrella.

Ivan picks up, and starts throwing, entire hams, bone and all.

Sven arms himself with a baguette.

Neo blocks and deflects the hams with her sword(fish), before rushing to duel Sven.

I stare down Ivan, dropping my baguette halves and grabbing a pair of hams from the air. I charge towards him as he grabs himself a pair of hams and we charge each other to engage in ham-to-ham combat.

"EAT HAM TRAITOR!" I bellow, wielding my hams in an exaggerated manner.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!" Ivan screams incoherently, matching ham with ham.

He swings a ham at me which I block, bashing him in the face with my other ham.

"HAM!" I shout, bludgeoning him once, "HAM!" twice, "HAM!" three times. Ivan is down on the floor.

He swings one of his hams, swiping my legs out from under me and knocking me to the ground.

"HAHA! I! AM! VIC-" *BLUDGEON* Ivan proclaims victoriously upon jumping to his feet before I jump up as well and proceed to slap him in the face with one of my hams.

We both assume a fighting stance and prepare for one final duel. We hear the chaos surrounding us and we ignore it, focused solely on clubbing our opponent into the surprisingly clean white floor with a slab of pork stuck to an unidentified (probably leg) bone.

We both swing our hams with great force, aiming for the other's head.

In a flash, we are both thrown apart, a purple glow forcing us towards the sides of the room

"How many times must I tell you children not to play with your food." Goodwitch says, pushing her glasses back up her nose with a single finger, holding her riding crop in her other hand, pointed towards where Ivan and I used to be. "Kurt."

"Yes m'am." I say, standing up and stretching.

"What is the meaning of this?" She gestures to the (again) ruined cafeteria.

"I was instructing my teammate about the finer points of discretion m'am!" I snap to attention while answering her question before sitting down at a nearby table.

Goodwitch sighs and Ozpin walks in behind her, taking a sip from his ever-present mug.

"So this makes three." Ozpin says, looking around. "It amazes me how much damage the kids can do today." he says mirthfully. "Especially considering how we put an end to this one much faster than the other one."

I look around the rest of the cafeteria. The table that I'm sitting at stands alone in a veritable sea of ruined tables, chairs, soda machines, and scattered foodstuffs.

"What a waste." I mutter, still looking around.

I see Jaune hanging by a few forks that pinned his hoodie to the wall. Weiss has fallen face-first into the floor, covered in mustard. Ruby, Yang and Nora are laughing at each other, all covered in exploded soda cans and pie. Ivan and Sven chatting by the wall. neo is sitting on a ruined soda machine eating a bowl of iced cream, her clothes in exactly the same condition as it was in when the food fight started. Pyrrha is busy getting Jaune down from his perch and Ren is sitting across from me, sipping a cup of tea.

"I get the feeling that this will be an eventful day." Ren says calmly, resting the teacup on his palm.

"Me too. When do classes start today?"

"Classes have been cancelled due to the Festival."

"And nobody thought to tell me that rather important piece of intel." I chuckle. "Par for the course, I guess."

"There weren't any classes yesterday."

"I just thought it was because I'd just gone through some rather traumatic experiences. Medical leave, that kinda stuff." I smirk, pulling a bar of something-or-other from my greatcoat and tearing it open. I bite a piece of it off and start chewing.

"What is that?" Ren asks quizzically. "I've never seen any of those before." he says in his usual tone.

"Ration bar. Nicked a few from Sven." I swallow. "They don't really taste like much, but they're high in energy." I take another large bite. "And I think I'm gonna need that energy today."

"I can feel it too. It's as if the tension is building across the city."

"In preparation for the finalé." I say, feeling it too. We were like two radios on different frequencies, still receiving the same message.

"And not the good kind." Ren and I both say, creepily in sync. He smirks and I just laugh.

"It's always nice talking to you mein friend." I say, finishing off the ration bar and tossing the crumpled-up wrapper into a (surprisingly) intact trashcan.

"And you as well." He replies.

"I've got some free time to spend. And a Forgemaster to have a nice, long conversation with. Preferably while working on something." I say, walking out. '" _I'm going to the forge. I want to talk with Stahl for a while._ "'

'"Alright. I'll text Ivan and the new guy. Sven, wasn't it?"'

'" _Yep, just text them when they ask_."'

'"Got it."'

'" _Aufedersein_."' I bamf to The Cave and retrieve Anne; Pearl was already strapped to my back below my greatcoat, hilt pointing down towards my belt. I strap Anne to my back as well and then bamf to the Forge, I walk inside to talk with my favorite teacher.

"Stahl. If you don't mind, I'd like to take you up on your offer to talk for a while." I walk up to the Forgemaster, who is hammering out a sword on an anvil. Without a hammer. Wearing steel gauntlets (which are actually part of his combat-wear) he swings his fist like a smith's hammer, small silver flashes of light sparking out when he stops the swing just above the sword.

"Sure. Are you just gonna stand around or do you want to work on something?" Stahl asks, looking over his shoulder at me.

"I've got a few ideas. First of all, I've got an idea for Anne and Pearl…" I say, walking over to the grinding wheel.

[A few hours later, still in the Forge.]

"You really need two of those?" Stahl asks, looking over my newest creation: a second Colt .45, made to mirror Marxman. It was forged from black steel, with a pair of bone-white panels on either side of the grip. Etched in dully glowing silver along the sides of the slide were these words:

 _A Cry for Help, a Distant Whisper/ A Foreign Nation Calling Our Name_ (Left side)

 _Sent to Hell, to Reach for Heaven/ To Serve in Dark, as LIGHT In The Black_ (Right side)

To some it might seem strange to etch that quote on a weapon, but to me it puts in words what I fight for.

"Yes, I do." I say, holding both weapons. Marxman in my left, shining silver. The newly named _Light_ in my right, a dark reflection, albeit lacking a scope.

 **AN: The quote on Light is from the prelude to a song and the gun itself is an homage to a manga/OVA. Guess one or either and I will award you one free imaginary cookie and I may use your username as the basis for a character or two.**

"Well, it does suit you. You're a good kid Kurt, if you ever need me I'll help you out. Try not to get yourself hurt." he says, sitting down on an unoccupied anvil. "You should get moving if you want to catch the tournament." He says, as I wipe Light down with a clean cloth.

"I guess I should. Thanks Stahl, see you later." I say, bamf'ing to The Cave to grab a second hip-holster for my weapon belt, along with a couple of extra magazines for Light. maybe I should make some black magazines, load them with something different. Dust rounds, maybe?

"Hey Kurt." I hear Ivan say from behind me. "How was the Forge?"

"I've got a new toy." I say, twirling Light gunslinger style. For safety reasons the gun is safed and the chamber is empty. After all, it would be rather embarrassing to shoot myself in the crotch. "I call it _Light_." I say, grabbing it by the barrel and handing it hilt-first to Ivan.

"You made this today?" Ivan asks.

"Most of it, I forged a few of the internal bits a while ago."

"I still can't get my head around how people just _make_ their own weapons around here."

"You get used to it. It's actually quite nice. Fighting for your life with a weapon that you yourself forged. It's calming." I say, Ivan handing the pistol back.

"That scientist lady called. She wants to invite us over a day early."

"How nice of her. Did she give a number to call her back at."

"She's actually at the landing pads with a _small_ escort."

"How small of an escort?" I ask, walking inside and grabbing a few things. Ivan follows me.

"Three dropships, four gunships, and two platoons of infantry. Ironwood isn't happy."

"I wouldn't expect him to be." I chuckle, clipping a holster to my right hip and sliding Light into it.

'" _Neo_?"'

'"Outside at the landing pads, looking at the small army Sven's friends brought along."'

'" _On my way with Ivan_."' I turn to Ivan, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on."

Ivan sighs, resignedly.

*Bamf*

We appear in my usual cloud of purple-black smoke just off of the main causeway from Beacon to the landing pads. After all, I haven't figured out what happens if I bamf right into the same space as something else. And I don't want to.

"That's rather impressive." I say, a smile on my face as I see the force assembled before me.

The dropships, all three sitting on the landing pads, were all rather bulky, robust looking, crafts with what appeared to be VTOL engines, sliding panels to cover the troop bay, and a turreted, gatling gun under the nose.

The four gunships were hovering and circling above, close enough to remind us all that they were here. Each looked like it was based off a similar airframe to the dropships, but with a pair of downwards-angled wings from which hung a series of missile racks and a turreted autocannon. Mounted on either side of the fuselage near the front were a pair of turreted machine guns.

On the ground were two platoons of Alpha Company infantry, standing in two formations of four blocks of ten, each centered around what I assume is a five-man command team. Standing between the two groups was Doctor Grey, flanked by a pair of bodyguards wearing grey armor with red accents.

Attempting to surround this rather impressive display of military might was a display of Atlesian military might, two gunships hovering in the air above a handful of Atlesian soldiers backed up by a fair number of drones and a pair of Paladins. They looked like they were trying to intimidate the PMCs. The PMCs weren't buying it.

Looking at the whole thing, I got the feeling the Atlesians were outgunned.

'"Hey Kurt."' Neo walks up to me twirling her umbrella.

"Hey there Neo, looking forward to our little trip?" I say with a smirk, absentmindedly twirling a combat knife in my left hand.

'"Not as much as you are."' She answers, giggling.

"Quite right, my dear." I say, chuckling and heading towards Dr Grey. "C'mon, let's check the place out. Not much is goin' on here. I've always wanted to see a military base before. Should be fun."

'"Didn't they say that they'd be running a few tests on you?"'

"Yeah, but I'm not too worried." I say as we approach the Atlesian forces.

"Stop right there kids." An Atlesian officer commands. He, unlike his soldiers, appears to be wearing a dress uniform. Like an idiot.

"Let us through." I say calmly. "We have an appointment with the Alpha Company and it would be rude to keep them waiting."

"We have orders to keep them contained and not to let anyone through." The officer answers.

"Hmm. Little late for that." I say, pulling Ivan, Neo and Sven into what probably looks like an awkward team hug.

*bamf* We reappear standing before Dr. Grey.

"Initiate Hall reporting m'am." Sven barks, saluting.

"Hey Doc." I say, waving to Grey.

Grey laughs. "It's nice to see you kids too."

"So I take it our appointment has been moved up a day." I say to Grey.

"It has." She affirms. "There have been some unexpected developments as of late so my schedule has been compressed quite a bit. So if you kids would follow me, we can set off for Firebase Alpha." She and her escorts head for one of the gunships. "Come on, we don't have all day." She says in her usual singsong voice. We follow her and climb aboard the dropship, watching as the the Alpha Company troops load aboard their own crafts. Two squads and one command team per dropship and one squad per gunship. The armored bay doors remain open, giving us a neat view of the city, much like the one I got on the bullhead to Mountain Glenn.

 **AN: I'm getting tired of typing out** _ **Alpha Company**_ **, so I'm just going to abbreviate it as** _ **AC**_ **from now on.**

We lift off with our escort and head off over the city. As we fly over the city Dr Grey starts going over what will comprise the tour. In this order: a tour of the labs, a short battery of tests, a tour of the rest of the facility and finally a short meeting with some higher-up. Sven knew what it was about but wasn't allowed to say.

Firebase Alpha is on the opposite side of the city from Beacon, in the industrial/warehouse district. Our transport circled the Firebase to give us a good look while the others peeled off to head somewhere else.

Firebase Alpha is a large complex of buildings enclosed by a squat wall topped by battlements complete with patrolling soldiers and bunkers. The complex is centered around what appears to be a command bunker and communications center. A large, half-buried building is positioned near the center of the compound, I can see a few jeeps and armored cars sitting outside. 'I guess that's the motor pool.' An even dozen landing pads are organized in two rows of six near a couple of small buildings that I assume are either hangers or storage. Four of the pads are still occupied, two by almost trident-like fighter craft, one by another dropship, and the fourth by a craft that screamed _ground-attack fighter_ even before I managed to make out a pair of high-caliber gatling cannons mounted on either side of the fuselage. A large landing pad was positioned right next to the command center. A few other buildings are scattered around the compound whose purposes I cannot discern. A few other structures, however, I can divine very easily. Positioned carefully around the compound are a few bunkers with what appear to be doors on the tops, and a few small domes mounted on short towers. If my instincts are correct, these are anti-air emplacements. As a whole, it looked freaking awesome.

After the dropship lands and the loadmaster (who I had utterly failed to notice for the entire duration of the flight) gives us the OK, we exit the dropship and watch as a team of mechanics rush in and start working on the dropship, attaching pintle-mounted MGs to hardpoints in the dropship's cargo bay and making sure the craft was ready to fly again. We continue to watch for a little bit as the mechanics finish and two squads of troops rush aboard. Soon after, the dropship lifts off and heads off to somewhere or other.

"You guys sure seem busy today." I comment.

"We've received a lot of contracts recently. Mostly grimm attacks on small, out of the way towns that _your_ council _cannot afford to defend_." One of Grey's escorts says, his voice dripping with anger. "Bunch of honorless cowards." He mutters.

"Farik." Dr. Grey warns, her voice almost creepily happy.

"S-Sorry m'am." Farik replies, sounding a bit terrified.

"What." I say flatly. "Did. You. Say."

"I'm sorry sir." He says a bit bitterly.

"No, before that. What were the council's exact words." I say, "About the citizens that they are supposed to be protecting." My voice is cold enough to freeze water.

"Oh. That. It seems that the council is refusing to send help because the hunters working there are still active, and since the towns are outside of their jurisdiction, all that they can do is forward their pleas for help to the Valean mission boards." Grey says, sounding dissonantly cheery and yet with an undertone of anger. I like Grey as a person, don't get me wrong, but dear Murphy she scares me sometimes.

"So, what's next?" I ask the good Doctor.

"First we need to stop by security to log your weapons." She says. I cringe. "Are you alright Kurt?" She asks, noticing my discomfort.

"Yeah, I just don't feel right going around without Marxman, and going around totally unarmed is damn near horrifying." I say, laughing nervously a bit.

"You're just being paranoid Kurt." Sven says, gesturing around.

"And proud of it." I say, interrupting him.

Sven sighs. "But you don't have to worry, logging your weapons just means that we know what you're carrying. We're paranoid too."

"And it pays off concerningly often." Farik comments.

We approach a bunker-like building buried half in the ground. The entire base, from the walls to the buildings, looks like they were both prefabricated and designed to resist a full tactical assault. Maybe even a strategic assault if the builders knew what they were doing (and it sure as hell looks like they do).

We enter the security center, connected to the command center.

Inside are a few fully armored soldiers sitting behind a desk that could probably double as a bunker if required. On a few racks behind the desk were various small arms: pistols, SMGs, shotguns, carbines and even a pair of what appear to be LMGs. Both are typing away on personal computers.

"Why aren't you guys using Mosaics?" I ask Grey, Mosaics being PC-style scrolls.

"The Alpha Company never uses the local 'net, we use our own. After all, it's much more difficult to hack a system that you've never seen."

"Makes sense." I say as Dr Grey stands in front of one of the soldiers at the desk.

"Sergeant. I have three visitors to log."

"Yes m'am." He says, his voice distorted a bit by his helmet's speakers. "Name." He says, looking at me.

"Kurt Wagner sir! Leader of Team K(rak)INS, from Beacon Academy."

"Cute." The Sergeant says dryly. "What're you carrying kid?" The older-sounding warrior asks."Just put them on the counter for logging.

"Even the ammo?"

"No, just the weapons will be fine."

A couple of minutes later.

"I'm impressed." Is all the Sergeant says, dutifully logging each and every knife, pistol, explosive charge and grenade.

"I try sir." I say.

"No need to be so formal." The Sergeant says, dismissively waving a hand. "I've got it all logged, you can take it back." He says. "Alright, who's next?"

Not long after, we'd gotten everything logged and taken care of and we were on our way to Dr. Grey's labs. We enter one of the buildings and descend underground in an elevator.

"Fancy. And a bit unexpected." I notice how long we've been in the elevator, and how fast it has been going. "How far down are we?"

"Far enough." Is all Grey says, smirking.

"Alright then." I respond.

With a muted *ding* we reach our destination: Floor B-5, Rec centers and labs.

"Rather strange pair of things to put on the same floor." I say.

"Actually, it's rather smart of the builders." Farik says, taking his helmet off. He is a younger man with tanned skin, crew-cut black hair, a black goatee, and blue eyes. "If the troops are going to defend anywhere like their life depends on it, that place would be the only spot on the base where you're allowed to get booze." He says, gesturing into a room, which is set up like a sports bar, complete with the big TVs showing…

"Can we stop the tour for a bit? The tournament's on. It looks like Pyrrha's up against Penny and I **don't** want to miss this." I ask/tell the good doctor.

She looks at her watch. "We've got the time. Sure."

We walk into the room, my teammates and I take seats at a booth with a good view of one of the many screens.

Grey and her escorts sit at another booth right next to us. Her escorts immediately start staring at the screens along with us. Grey, on the other hand, divides her time between watching us and watching the tournament.

I focus on the screen, seeing Penny greet Pyrrha. Soon after that, the fight starts, showing various camera shots from multiple angles. Probably some poor person watching a dozen feeds and trying to pick the best view.

I see Penny and Pyrrha trade blows, and am more than impressed by Penny's swords. Technically their plasma/laser form but still, it's freaking awesome.

The fight progresses, with neither Pyrrha nor Penny gaining any advantage to speak of. Eventually, Penny knocks Milo and Akuo away, summoning her swords above her, to strike the final blow and win the match. I figured that Pyrrha could use her semblance to deflect the swords or return them to strike their owner.

Pyrrha raises her arms and looks on in terror. It was a face unlike any I'd ever seen on her before. I'd seen her face down Grimm with far more steel in her eyes than she was showing now. Penny launches her attack, sending her swords unerringly towards Pyrrha.

As I predicted, she uses her semblance. Not as I predicted, she uses far too much force. Penny's swords, apparently controlled by wires, fly backwards and wrap themselves around Penny's limbs and torso. Then the shear straight through to reveal a mess of dust-powered wires, circuits and servos.

"Oh shit." One soldier says.

"The hell? The kid's a synth!" Another echoes.

The screen flickers for a second before a rather irritating voice emanates from the speakers.

"This is **not** a tragedy. This was **not** an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your _children_ , to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than _men_. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both." Cinder starts preaching. "They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference." She says, around the room, soldiers are wondering what the hell is going on. " And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching _his_ students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his _colossal_ failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Maybe it was to the mercenaries that carry themselves like they answer to a kingdom. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... _equally_ undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet _we_ , the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?" Cinder ends her tirade and right afterwards an air-raid siren sounds. Soldiers leap up from their tables, scattering glasses, food and dishes. Then, almost as one, they rush to the exits, whatever weapons they carry on their person in their hands. Even the bartenders and cook staff are in motion.

"What's going on?" I shout to Sven, making my voice clear over the keening wail and the clatter of armored bootsoles.

"We're under attack." Sven replies, donning his helmet. Quickly Farik and I follow suit. "That seiren means red alert. Combat imminent or ongoing." He says as he leads the way out, Grey and her guards moving with us.

"We should take the freight elevator. It's this way." Grey's other guard says, as she takes the lead. We make our way to a rather crowded freight elevator already holding at least two dozen soldiers in various states of armament: from fully kitted out to only wearing their rubberized-fabric type bodysuits and carrying whatever weapon they had on them at the time. I look at the little lights telling us our location and destination. We were almost to level B-1: Armory and Motor Pool.

We reach our destination and a tone sounds as the doors slide open. Grey's second guard, her name still unknown, leads us to a room labeled _Rally Room Bravo_. Inside the medium-sized room were four sergeants with mil-spec tablets sending troops to various locations.

"Sergeant!" Farik says, snapping to attention. "Two Legionnaires, one Initiate, three Hunter cadets, and a Company scientist." He reports.

"Doc goes to safe-room Echo, the rest of you rendezvous with the Prefect. Apparently he needs a few extra guns for something or other. He's in motor pool Alpha, getting a small convoy organized." The Sergeant says, and Sven leads us off towards the Prefect.

"Who's the Prefect again?" I ask Sven.

"You remember the soldier we met in the Headmaster's tower? The one with the Storm Eagles and black and purple armor?" Sven says.

"Yeah. That was him?" I reply.

"Sure as hell was him. What did you think of him?"

"He looked like quite the badass and from what I could tell, he earned that title." I say. "Looked like he'd seen it all. It was definitely the eyes."

"Yeah, he's been fighting a while. The soldiers he was with are fireteam Ignis, they've been assigned to work with him since before I was born."

"So I take it that they're some of the best."

"If not the very best."

"This is gonna be rather fun." I say, grinning under my helmet.

"You alright kid?" Farik asks.

"Yep. Just a bit excited to see how they fight. Ignis and the Prefect, that is." I reply. "And also a combination of terrified and pissed off."

"Why would that be?" Farik asks, as he and his partner start making some last-minute equipment checks while simultaneously on the move.

"Well if the alarms are going off then the city is likely under attack. And there are two likely candidates: the Grimm and the White Fang. Both of which piss me off to no end. And if the city is under attack, then my family and friends are in danger too. Which is, to be honest, quite a bit terrifying. And if anything happens to my friends or family, whoever hurt them will be in a rather _unpleasant_ situation." I say, following the Legionnaires' lead and checking that my personal arsenal is all where I left it and in working order. I pull Blue Death from its place on my lower back and depress the transformation studs to shift it from storage mode to its AR form. I pull back on the bolt to load a round into the chamber but leave the safety on. We enter the Motor Pool

'"What're those?"' Neo asks, pointing at a row of four vehicles with her parasol. We both slow down a bit. There are four more rows of the same vehicles. Three of four and one of three. An entire armored company. 'Impressive.' Crewmen, wearing light armor with visored helmets open from the nose down and wearing assorted colors of bandannas around their necks, are already rushing to their vehicles and starting them up. Without the distinctive sound and smell of internal combustion engines, I note excitedly.

"That, my dear Neo. Is a tank. Although that barrel is rather different than what I'm used to." I say, noting the fact that the barrel is definitely much more squared-off and angular than I remember. The others slow down to keep pace.

"That's because it's a railgun." Sven says, while Farik and his comrade look at us quizzically. Or at least I imagine that's what they were doing below their helmets. Rather hard to tell what someone's feeling when you can't see their face. Although I guess that's the point. I tap my head, just above my ear.

"Telepathy." I explain. Farik and his companion shake their heads and return their gaze to the path ahead.

'"What's a railgun?"' Neo asks me.

"It's a gun that uses magnets to launch a projectile instead of a chemical reaction. They are so powerful that they can turn the air behind them into _plasma_." I say, even more excited. "And I don't hear diesels, what's the engine use?"

"They use electric motors powered by low-rad batteries." Sven says.

"Radiation?!" I say, flinching irrationally.

"It's shielded very heavily. And naturally emits a form of radiation that dissipates very rapidly in air. Don't ask how, it's classified. And I don't know." Sven answers.

"I want one. Or two. Maybe five? Twenty? Hell, just gimme an entire damn division!" I say, spreading my arms widely, palms raised towards the ceiling and pulling a 360 spin.

"Sorry kid, these babies ain't for sale." A crewman laughs. I shake my head and keep following Sven.

After another minute or so we reach our destination.

The Prefect, Brimstone if memory serves, is currently addressing a group of soldiers. Among them are Ignis, a number of crewmen and women, and eight soldiers wearing the same armor as Farik and his companion.

"So the rest of our band finally arrives. Good. I take it that you three are Initate Hall's teammates?"  
"Yes sir. We are." I reply, standing at attention. Or some semblance thereof.

"Buckets off, I want to know who I'm fighting with." Brimstone says. I look around and realize that everyone's helmets are either clipped to their belts or held in their hands.

"Jawohl Prefect." I say, pulling off my helmet with a reassuring snap-hiss. Farik, his partner, Sven and Ivan follow suit.

"Good. As I was saying, this entire place is going to hell. The heaviest combat appears to be centered around Beacon Academy, which we believe will have to be evacuated or leveled by the time that this entire shitshow sorts itself out. About 100 meters below the Headmaster's tower-slash-integral part of the planetary comms array lies a rather important piece of Alpha Company property that will be retrieved at all costs before the situation can devolve any further. As for our transportation, we're going by land, heavy armored and mechanized escort. If we could insert by air I would have done so, but seeing as all of our combat aircraft are just barely holding air parity over this area of the city, even gunships would have a difficult time getting to the academy. Our convoy will consist of a core unit of one platoon of assault jeeps and two MRAPs supported by a platoon of tanks and two mechanized infantry platoons. The Legionnaires will be riding together in the second vehicle and the cadets will be riding with us in the first. Dismissed." The Prefect gives the short pre-mission briefing. After that the various soldiers and crews rush to their vehicles.

We follow Ignis and Brimstone to our MRAP, a boxy armored vehicle with reinforced windows and firing ports, along with a remote-controlled minigun mounted just behind the driver's compartment.

We mount the vehicle through a pair of doors in the back. On either side of the vehicle was another door for each crewman and another door on each side near the middle for rapid exits.

We sit on the left row of seats, while Ignis and Brimstone sit on the right. I feel the MRAp jerk into movement and start to slowly roll along.

"So kids, you're probably wondering why I'm bringing you along instead of actual soldiers." Brimstone says.

We nod.

"Well, then you'll just have to wait. But I will tell you this: I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you four." Brimstone says, unclipping his helmet from his belt. He turns it around a few times in his hands and looks inside. "Do you three have comms?"

"I've got my scroll's speakers tied into my helmet. If someone calls up my scroll I can talk without having to take it off." I say.

"Not secure enough. All of your comms rout through the CCT. If someone hacks in or takes it down, comms are compromised. Take these." He says, pulling three earpieces from his armored web gear. "Just click your teeth twice to talk." He explains. "Don't worry about power, these things last weeks."

Ivan, Neo and I slip them into our ears. Everyone save Neo helmets up and I hear a barely discernable static in the earpiece.

"Comm back if you hear me." Brimstone orders. One by one we report back, those who can at least. "And you Miss… Neo, was it?"

'"Tell him I can hear him."'

"She can hear you sir. She's just mute."

"Ah. Does she have any way to communicate?" Brimstone asks, after a slight pause. Probably trying to figure out how to rectify the situation.

"I can hear her. Some sort of two-way telepathic connection. Don't ask how I've got no clue." I answer.

Brimstone thinks for a second. "Alright you two pair up. Initiate Hall and your other comrade-"

"It's Ivan sir. Ivan Redovitch." Ivan answers, his accent thicker than usual. The other passengers go silent for a second.

"As I was saying, Initiate Hall and Mister Redovitch will be paired together. Ignis One and Two and Ignis Three and Four will be paired together." The soldiers waved as their names were mentioned.  
"And you, sir?" I ask.

"He'll be alright on his own." Ignis Two says. "Ain't that right sir?"

"Indeed Two. After all, somebody has to keep the 1st Cohort's torch burning."

"Cohort? Like the Roman Legions?" I ask, cocking my head a bit to the right.

"Not exactly. And this is not the time to get into further detail." Brimstone says.

I take his cue and look outside through one of the armored viewports. The convoy is forming up around us. Beyond the glorious display of military might is the city of Vale. It is, for the most part, on fire and covered in flying Grimm. It wasn't my fault.

"Hey team. You maaayy want to look outside. It's not good." I see Griffons flying through the air in swarms, silhouetted by the setting sun. Around us, flak cannons thump out their ceaseless rhythm, gatling guns buzz and missiles whoosh into the air to take out the Elder Nevermores. The city burns and the Grimm feast.

Gunshots can be heard echoing through the city.

Vale was at war and we were right in the middle of it.


	43. Chapter 43

Ch43: A few more Character Descriptions (Ivan, Sven and Brimstone)

Ivan Redovitch

Age: 18

Appearance:

5' 10"

Dark black hair, tied into a "wolf tail" (Description courtesy of Sokka)

Black irises

Heavily Built

Semblance: I'll tell you later

Weapon(s): Name

M202 FLASH rocket launcher that shifts into a warhammer: Dragon's Roar

AK-47 look-alike: Red Harvest

Various grenades, knives, etc.

Colors: Red and Black

Combat Clothing:

Black full-body armor (similar to Kurt's)

Bright red undersuit

Muted red web gear

Symbol: golden vodka bottle overlaid above the Soviet hammer and sickle.

Sven Hall

Age: 18

Appearance:

5' 8"

Blond hair, crew cut

Blue irises

Medium build

Semblance: None

Special Abilites: (;

Weapon(s): Name

Spec ops-issue AR (.30 caliber, gauss-enhanced bullpup): Unnamed

Spec ops-issue sidearm (.45 caliber): Unnamed

Cavalry Sabre: Carolus Rex

Various grenades, knives, etc

Colors: Black, bright blue, hints of gold/yellow

Combat Clothing:

Black/red Spec ops-issue body armor (effectively the same as Ivan and Kurt, but a bit more advanced)

Black undersuit

Black/red web gear

Occasionally a royal blue cape

Silver, skull-shaped whistle on silver ball-chain

Symbol: Crossed silver Gladii will suffice.

Prefect Brimstone

Age: Unknown (For now)

Appearance:

6' 5"

Grey hair, crew-cut

Green irises

Semblance: None

Abilities: Unknown

Weapon(s): Name

Dual matte-black Desert Eagle look-alikes: Unnamed

Assault rifle (.50 caliber, gauss enhanced, bullpup): Unnamed

Two-handed tactical sabre: Deicide

Assorted knives, grenades, etc

Colors: Black and Purple

Combat Clothing:

Black/purple combat armor

Black undersuit

Black/purple web gear

Ten silver-skull pins roughly the size of a thumbnail, embedded in chest armor plate just above heart

Symbol: Crossed pair of golden gladii will suffice.


	44. Chapter 44

Ch 44: Always remember a fallen soldier

(Tues, Y+1, M+5, D+4)

[Firebase Alpha, City of Vale]

 **AN: Heavy AU incoming. And a rather significant tangent.**

I continue to stare out of the tiny armored viewport, captivated by the deadly drama playing itself out before my eyes. It was like the Hindenberg footage, I just couldn't look away. I could see the swarms of Griffons and Nevermores assaulting anything that flew. The Amity Colosseum was being assaulted by flying Grimm, as were a trio of Atlesian airships. The AC fighters were dancing through the sky, bursts of cannon fire and missile contrails light the darkening sky, which made the silhouettes of the Grimm all the more intimidating.

I saw a series of flashes coming from one of the Atlesian airships, it was opening fire on its two companions, knocking both from the sky in balls of fire and smoke.

"Problem!" I say loudly. "We've got fratricide."

"What!?" Brimstone asks rather loudly.

"The Atlesian airships! One just knocked the other two out!"

"What's going on up there." Brimstone growls.

"Hell if I know." I say, hearing the sounds of combat get even louder suddenly.

"What!?" I hear Brimstone say.

"Sir?" One asks.

"The Atlesian 'bots are going psycho. They're opening fire on pretty much everything that moves. Except for the Grimm, it seems." Brimstone says. "I'm calling Code Charlie Foxtrot Alpha."

I turn to ask Sven a question.

"The Code system designates a mission's status. Charlie Foxtrot is the lowest of our 'problem' codes, next comes SNAFU, then FUBAR, then Mauve. If somebody calls Code Mauve, we're all screwed. Don't even bother running because you won't make it, just stand and go down fighting. Making peace with yourself is also a recommended option." Sven explains, preempting my question.

"Well then." I say, deciding that it would be a good time to recheck my gear.

"Alright, change of plans." Brimstone says, presumably getting off of a call. "Our escort's being cut back a bit. The tanks and infantry are being reassigned elsewhere. The good news is that all local airborne assets are being diverted to cover us. We're leaving now." He says, as the MRAP jerks to life. As we move, I see the aircraft in the sky begin to act more aggressively. Instead of simply holding onto a piece of sky and downing any grimm that contested it, they start to bank towards us and actively clear an area of sky above us.

We come up to the gate, a solid piece of metal covered by a series of bunkers and sandbagged emplacements. The gate splits apart in the middle and both halves slide to the side, revealing the city of Vale. The city before us is rather more intact than I would have expected it to be, but I guess the AC forces are holding down the area rather nicely.

The gates slide open and two of the Jeeps roll out in front of us, followed by us, followed by the other MRAP, followed by the other two Jeeps. Our convoy continues on in relative peace until we reach one of the residential districts.

A small squad of AK androids opens fire from a side road, their rifle fire simply scratching the paint of our MRAP. The minigun on top of our MRAP buzzes to life like a massive saw. The AKs are quickly reduced to scrap in a sideways hail of bullets and a few grenades fired from the sponsons mounted on either side of the Jeeps.

From there on, it got harder. Our convoy slowed down as we had to deal with increasing Grimm threats ahead of us. The air support is making our journey much easier, although the beautiful display of military might is not the first thing on my mind.

"You alright Kurt?" Ivan asks.

"Yeah. Just a bit concerned. Beacon's under attack, after all, and all of my friends are there. Except for Dad and Uncle Qrow, everyone I know lives there. Even my sisters. I mean, I know they can take care of themselves, but this is something different."

"Hey… Kurt, isn't it?" Three asks.

"Yes." I reply.

"If you have that much faith in them, they'll be alright. We all know how you feel. Fighting is one thing, but sitting around while everyone else puts their lives on the line is something far worse. Either way, we're closing in on the Academy. We'll be there soon."

"I guess we will." I say, looking out of the viewport to see the lake separating Beacon from the city proper. In the surface I could see the battle being waged in the skies. I could see Grimm and AC aircraft dancing their ballet of death. As I watched the skies above, saw a Griffon ram straight into an AC fighter, causing both to spiral down to crash into the ground just off the path a couple hundred or so meters ahead of us. In the darkness, we could see Grimm gathering to attack. We would probably make it through with speed and force of arms but the pilot would be dead. If he weren't already.

"Is he still alive?" I ask Brimstone.

"HUD says he is." Is the response. "But by the time we get to _her_ it'll be too late."

"Not if I can help it." I say determined. 'I may not be able to help my friends right now, but I **won't** let _them_ get that pilot.'

"What? You'll get yourself killed if you try. And us too if we stop to get her." One says.

"Then don't stop. And Neo, if you wouldn't mind keeping a video call going on your scroll, that would be great." I look out the viewport and see the crashed aircraft. The pilot appears to have opened the cockpit and is attempting to free herself from the wreckage.

"Don't-" I hear someone say.

*bamf*

I'm standing a meter from the crashed fighter, stepping from my usual cloud of smoke. The pilot looks at me through an opaque visor.

"Where the hell'd you come from kid? Get outta here, I'll just slow you down." She orders as she attempts to pull herself from the burning craft. "My leg's pinned, I won't be able to get out before those _things_ reach us."

I see the Grimm close in and start to charge. 'Shit.'

"Not if I can help it." I say, jumping onto her fighter and grabbing onto her forearm. With my other hand I grab Blue Death and start firing into the oncoming mass of Beowolves and Ursai. "Hold this for me, would you?" I ask, letting go of her arm and pulling my scroll from my belt. I press a button and _calling Neo_ appears on the screen. After that I press the scroll into her hand.

'"What the hell were you thinking!?"' Neo demands as her face appears on the screen. In the mackground I can see the occupants of the MRAP staring at the screen.

'" _I was thinking that you could maybe turn your scroll to show me an open space in the MRAP big enough for two people?_ "' I look up to take better aim as I let Blue Death drop in its sling and grab Marxman from its holster.

"Just get outta here kid! I'll hold them off! Just RUN!" The pilot shouts at me, both angry and sad.

'"*sigh* You reckless elf."'

'" _I love you too dear._ "'

I look down to see her helmetless face. "Just let me die. I don't want to drag someone else down with me." She says, determination in her eyes.

"Just hold on." I say, grabbing her forearm and looking into the scroll to visualize the area in my mind. Next I turn my head to see where the convoy is. The pilot shouts at me and I hear growling almost right next to me. The Grimm are within arm's length. I feel the pilot's body and position. 'This is gonna be a close one.'

*bamf*

We reappear inside the MRAP, and fall in a heap to the floor. The pilot throws up.

"Any of you a medic?" I ask aloud.

"I am." Three says.

"Multiple fractures in the ribs and right arm, broken right femur and severe flesh wounds on the right leg." I report, pulling myself from the floor. The pilot has stopped vomiting, now she's screaming in pain and grabbing onto her leg, now bent at a rather unhealthy angle. Now I notice how her flight suit is reinforced with what appears to be armor in certain vital areas. Fortunately for her, the armor had probably saved her life. There were multiple pieces of shrapnel stuck in the armor, although a few had penetrated whatever it was the armor was made of.

"On it." Three says, dropping his AR to grab a medkit from an overhead compartment.

"What the hell was that kid?" Brimstone asks a bit angrily.

"Teleportation sir. It's my semblance. I can teleport from one end of the city to the other pretty much at will." I say, reloading my weapons. "I can take inanimate objects with me rather easily. However, pulling someone along with me while I do so is rather tiring and energy-consuming." I say, taking off my helmet. I pull a ration bar from my coat and promptly start eating.

"And you didn't tell us because." Brimstone asks.

"Figured it was in whatever file or report I figured you probably had on me and my team." I gesture to Sven. "Or he told you. Either way, it's more of a tactical than a strategic thing. I won't be able to get us all in or out without severely compromising my combat effectiveness." I say, finishing the bar and shoving the wrapper into my greatcoat. I replace my helmet on my head and feel the vehicle drive onto an incline. We're starting to ascend onto the Beacon plateaux.

"What the hell's going on up there?" Ivan asks, pointing up towards the edge of the plateaux.

A small fleet of bullheads appear to be hovering right next to the edge of the cliff.

"Looks like the Academy is under attack." Brimstone comments. "Frank."

"Yessir?" The driver asks.

"Punch it." Brimstone comms to the convoy. A series of confirmations follow from the drivers, after which the convoy starts to pick up speed, barreling along the road at speeds that could easily be considered unsafe.

"How long 'till we reach the top?" I ask, performing yet another equipment check. I pull back Blue Death's bolt, chambering a round but keeping the safety on.

"A couple minutes. No more than two." Four says, running a clean cloth over a jet black short sword. He stares down the length of the blade and sheathes it in a slot on the back of his armor. "You alright kid? You seem a bit… tense."

"Again, my two sisters are up there, one of whom saved my life. The other sister is the single most caring woman I know, although she doesn't always show it. If either of them get hurt, I will be PISSED." I say, my voice taking on the usual dark echo on the last word.

"What." Three says, his tone flat.

"What just happened." One asks in a similar tone.

"Oh. Yeah. That." I say, balancing one of my knives on the tip of my finger. "In the event that nobody's told you yet, I'm kinda psychic. Actually the reason I was visiting your base in the first place. Grey invited me to run some tests. She was rather intrigued by me, I guess."

"So you're a psyk too? Kinda figured." Four says. I cock my head to the side a bit. "Takes one to know one."

"Prove it." I say, after which my knife starts to float up and spin around in the air. "So I'm not the only one." I say, a bit happier.

"Yeah, I specialize in Telekinesis and the like. I have, on occasion, crushed AFVs like soda cans. And vice-versa. Never been much good with the sensory stuff."

"And as far as I can tell, I'm pretty much the opposite. I can sense a roughly 50-meter radius, although I do have minor telekinetic capabilities. As in I can lift a magazine but that's about it. There's a bit more but I don't think we have the time for it." I say, as we reach the top of the plateaux and the voice of the lead Jeep's pilot sounds in the comms.

"We've spotted the objective. Hard contact." The pilot reports, as we hear fighting in the distance.

"Alright. Everyone move out. We disembark one-hundred meters from the target. Repeat, we disembark one-zero-zero meters from the target. Air support you are green to open fire on any hostiles within five hundred, repeat five-zero-zero meters of the target." Brimstone curtly orders.

A string of responses sound from the various pilots.

"Sir. We have three distinct groups of hostiles active. White Fang terrorists, rogue Atlesian tech, and Grimm. The Atlesian 'bots are focusing mostly on the target area, the Fang are attacking students and Atlesians attempting to evac via the airfield, and the Grimm are generally running amok." One of the pilots (I assume flying in a gun/drop ship) reports. Brimstone sighs angrily.

"We disembark now, all vehicles are to cover the evac. Even air power, we can hold our own." Brimstone orders. "But be ready to cover us in case we can't." He says with what I can only assume is a smirk. The MRAP screeches to a halt and the doors fly open. We quickly pile out. Except for me, I bamf.

I bring up my rifle and immediately pick off a beowulf watching from a rooftop. A three round burst tears through its open mouth and puts the beast down.

"Hostiles incoming!" I report into the comm net. "Beowolves, lots of 'em." I say, opening fire on the others that quickly swarm towards us from around the buildings. After a few moments, I realize that these are the dorms. And they're about half on fire. "Well shit, there goes my security deposit."

"That's the least of our problems, just get moving!" Brimstone orders, already jogging towards the CCT, firing the occasional burst as he went. None of them missed. Ignis forms up behind him in a miniature flying wedge, also firing as they go.

"C'mon! Move it!" I shout, deciding that it would be best to follow the group of highly-trained soldiers. The Legionnaires also disembark and together we all start booking it towards the CCT under covering fire from our rapidly retreating transports.

After a few hectic minutes of running and shooting we reach the CCT to find a battle raging. SSSN, JNPR, CFVY, Weiss, Stahl and a couple of other students I recognize but don't remember are all holding the line against Grimm, rogue Paladins, and a small handful of White Fang insurgents.

"OPEN FIRE!" Brimstone bellows, his voice amplified by his helmet. The students, Grimm, and insurgents all turn to stare. And then they die.

I focus on the insurgents, their existence being a pet peeve of mine. I quickly switch to single rounds and quickly double-tap all eight of them.

By the time I've finished, I have the privilege of watching Ignis and Brimstone deal with a group of three Paladins moving to reinforce the trio already attacking the CCT's defenders.

Four is ineffectually hosing down one Paladin with his AR. He runs dry and quickly clips the weapon to the back of his armor, switching it for his straight-bladed sword. He quickly rushes the mech, his sword glowing a bright greenish-white color. He uses what I assume to be telekinesis to wrench the Paladin's weapons away from aiming at him as he charges the mech. He leaps, stabbing the sword straight through the armor of the cockpit, swiftly opening a hole with a few precise strikes. Once through, he tosses a couple of grenades and jumps off, sheathing his sword and again wielding his AR.

As he jogs away from the mech, now behaving a bit erratically due to what I assume is system damage, he casually reloads his weapon. Precisely six seconds after he threw the grenades, they detonate and gut the Paladin, leaving it to limply crash to the ground.

Meanwhile, the rest of Ignis keep peppering their mech with AR fire while Three quickly unclips a compact rocket launcher from the back of his armor and fires, the rocket lancing into the mech, obliterating it.

Next I turn my attention to Brimstone, dealing with what appears to be an advanced model of the Paladin. He's already crippled it, somehow damaging both the primary weapon systems and the legs, using only his AR and his sword, which he is wielding in tandem, firing a few rounds from his larger caliber AR and slashing occasionally with his sword, dealing with the occasional Grimm the got too close. In addition to this, he was dodging the mech's occasional rocket barrages, fired from launch bays on its back. The mech charged at him, which he dodged by jumping over it and landing on its back.

He emptied his magazine into something on the back of the mech and then stabbed his sword into the mech, sinking it down to the hilt. The mech twitches a bit and slumps over, dead. Everyone else is done clearing out their foes and stare at the newly-arrived soldiers. And us, but more them.

"Well, that was a bit disappointing. I was expecting better." Brimstone says, to the shock of pretty much everyone.

"THAT WAS MY FAMILY'S MOST ADVANCED DESIGN YET!" Weiss yells.

"Well then you've still got a ways to go." Brimstone says.

Weiss, simply put, fumes. As in, she's angry enough that even I can feel it. Apparently so can Four.

"I think you pissed her off Lead." Four remarks via the comms.

"I've got more important things to worry about." Brimstone replies. "Alright kids, time for you to evacuate." He orders, amplifying his voice using his helmet so that it rings out commandingly. "The Legionnaires will be going with you to provide support." He turns to one of the Legionnaires, their sole discernable difference being the red stripe running down the top of their helmet. "Decanus, make sure that these kids get back to the docks. Don't wait for us. We'll be calling in for exfil via aircraft." Brimstone orders.

"Sir." Decanus replies, saluting before he starts to order his squad around.

"We're not leaving, the headmaster, Pyrrha and Jaune are still down there." Coco says firmly, standing her ground. The other students stand firmly and nod in agreement.

"No, you're not. We're going to get out of here. It's my job to make sure you stay safe and that's what I'll do. The Atlesians have set up a safe zone down in the city, and that's where we're headed." Stahl orders, his voice commanding. He's dressed in his combat armor; a cross between Atlesian armor and a suit of Roman plate armor, formed from a shining silver metal. His helmet, however, is starkly Roman, except much more angular and possessing a pair of silver ridges running down the top, almost like the plumes on a Roman helmet except much less pronounced.

"You four too." Stahl says, pointing to us.  
"Sorry sir, we've got a job to do still." I say, gesturing to Brimstone and Ignis.

"I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, am I?"

"No sir. See you on the other side Stahl." I say, snapping a salute.

"You too Kurt." Stahl says, returning it smartly. "Alright kids, move out!" he barks, wielding his shotgun-hammer Panzerfaust with both hands. He likes to get up close and personal, he finds it cathartic.

As Stahl, my fellow students, and the legionnaires head off towards the airship docks, Brimstone starts barking orders.

"Ignis, get those doors open, I want a way down there ASAP." He says, quickly reloading his AR.

"Sir, the door is entirely unharmed. And the elevator still works." One reports.

"Oh. That was a lot easier than I exp-" Brimstone says, before stopping abruptly.

"Fuck." Brimstone, Ignis and Sven all say simultaneously. And I mean simultaneously,.  
"I just tempted the Fates, didn't I?" Brimstone says resignedly.

"Ummm… What the hell just happened." Ivan asks, rather confused just like Neo and I.

"Brimstone over here just expressed the sentiment that this mission was going more easily than he had expected, thus tempting the Fates. Long story short, something's going to go horribly wrong and it's all Brimstone's fault." Two says. In the distance we hear an unholy roar/screech. "Hmm. That was fast. I was going to give it five more minutes at least." Two remarks.

"Holy shit that thing's big." I say, spotting the Grimm dragon in the distance, coming from Mountain Glenn. "Massive fucking dragon inbound." I say, pointing. "Thataway."

"Well then. Sure looks like it's heading this way, doesn't it." Two says, slightly amused.

"Shut it." Brimstone orders, a bit in jest if I'm any judge. "We should get moving. I'm not sure how effective our air cover will be against that thing." He says, as we all file into the elevator. It is surprisingly roomy.

One stares at the panel on the wall. "What floor?" He asks.

"The lowest one." Brimstone says.

"That'd be the ground floor. Which we're sitting on right now."

"Any strange slots, buttons, keyholes, shit like that?" I ask.

"Wait a sec. Concealed panel." One says, looking at the wall panel. He pulls out a combat knife and pries it open, revealing a ing a space about the size of a collapsed scroll. Inside are a scroll port and a button. "Bingo." One says. "Hey, Kurt, hand me your scroll." He holds out his armored gauntlet.

"Alright." I say, handing him the device. He pulls out a small black box, presses a button on my scroll and a button on the box at the same time and holds them for a few seconds. Then he slots my scroll into the panel and the button lights up. He presses the button and returns my scroll.

"Ere ya go." One says, a bit of a Texan accent making itself known.

"What did you do?" I ask, not very hopeful of getting an actual answer.

"Sorry, but that's rather classified." He says, as the metal box starts to descend.

"Fair enough." I say. Suddenly I feel something below us. "I get the feeling that we're riding straight into a fuck-all massive fight." I say, feeling five presences below us. We're close to the bottom now.

"Lock and load." Brimstone says, as he stands in front of the door, ready to charge out. Presumably to draw fire. Ignis stacks up behind him.

"Neo and I will be teleporting out when we hit the bottom, I'll take the left side of the door and Neo my dear, you can take the right." I say, stepping to the back of the elevator. "By the way, I can sense five people down there: Ozpin, Pyrrha, Jaune, one incredibly powerful immobile unknown and one hostile."

"So the usual." Two says, checking his marksman AR one last time.

"Yep." Three says, his LMG held at the ready.

"Just remember the mission." Brimstone says seriously.

The elevator approaches the floor I can discern the identity of the hostile. It's Cinder.

'" _Neo, Cinder's down there._ "' I tell her.

'"Good. Time for payback."' Neo grins devilishly.

"Umm, why does the lady seem so… excited?" Three asks, a bit concerned.

"She's about to settle a score with our hostile down there." I say, and Neo grins even more.

"I'll try not to piss her off." Three says.

The elevator dings and the door slides open, revealing a massive, high-ceilinged vault surrounded by shadowed walls. I feel one of the presences die.

*Bamf*

Inside I see Cinder, currently undergoing what looks suspiciously like a power-up phase from a boss battle. Jaune looks like he's freaking out, Pyrrha is freaking out inside some weird glass-coffin-box-type thing, some random lady is dead inside another box-thing, and Ozpin looks like he's thinking that he hasn't had enough coffee today to deal with this shit.

I bring my AR up into the firing position as the rest of the group piles out of the elevator. I acquire my target and open fire. My teammates and Ignis also open fire on Cinder. Her newly-acquired powers block every round, Ivan having used Red Harvest instead of Dragon's Roar and the rest of us using small arms.

In retaliation she releases a wave of auburn energy that knocks us all on our backs, with the exception of Brimstone, who is running at full-speed towards the pair of weird glass coffins and strange machinery, ignoring everything else.

Jaune charges at Cinder, who casually knocks him on his back with a bolt of amber energy.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouts, using her semblance to rip the front of her cage off and flinging it away. Jaune is collapsed on the ground, quickly coming to, and trying to get back on his feet. Pyrrha pulls him up and gets into a fighting stance while Jaune gets reoriented for a second or two.

Ozpin looks over his shoulder to Pyrrha, assuming a stance of his own "Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda! Ironwood! Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall!" He orders.

Pyrrha opens her mouth as if to say something before quickly shutting it, nodding, and supporting Jaune as they run to the elevator. "C'mon Kurt! We need to get out of here!" Pyrrha shouts. I slow down a bit to answer her.

"Sorry Pyrrha, I'm not leavin' 'till he does." I point to Sven. "And he's not leavin' 'till **they** do." I point to Brimstone and Ignis. "See you when this shitshow's over." I say, tossing a two-fingered salute, taking a hand off my rifle to do so.

"See you too, Kurt." Pyrrha says, a bit sadly.

We head our separate ways, and I speed up to catch up with my comrades. As we make our way down the rather long vault to Brimstone's location. We run at full speed past Cinder and Ozpin, currently engaging in a short battle of words before they engage in actual combat.

We reach Brimstone soon after. As we pass behind the coffins, my psychic powers are nulled, almost completely suppressed. All I could feel was my own self. Ignis immidiately starts searching through the tangle of machinery, opening inspection hatches and removing panels as they do so. My team and I take up overwatch.

'" _Neo_?"' I ask.

'"Yes? Something wrong?"' She responds. 'Good. I can still talk to her.'

'" _My powers are suppressed_. _Except this, for some reason_."' I say.  
'"That's odd. Maybe it's the machines?"' She gestures with her umbrella.

'" _Probably_."' I respond. I look over to the fight raging between Cinder and Ozpin. It's actually rather impressive. "We may want to get moving. The fight looks like it'll be coming to an end soon. And Ozpin doesn't look like he's winning."

"I found it sir!" Four proclaims, waving a hand in the air.

"Alright everyone, regroup with Four." Brimstone orders. We all quickly follow that order, partially because it takes us further into the mess of machinery and therefore away from the fight that Ozpin is now most definitely losing.

We meet up with the rest of our little group near Four, who is standing in front of an open access hatch. Inside I can see the back end of a black slab, crossed by a few lines of a purple substance inset into the strange black stone. At least I think it's stone.

"I thought it best to leave this to you sir." Four says.

"And you might want to be quick about it. When the fight's over, that bitch'll start on us." I say, jerking a thumb in the direction of the soon-to-be-ended fight.

"When we're done she's free to try." Brimstone says, eagerly if I'm any judge. He reaches into the small hatch and pulls out the slab, which I now recognize as the artifact that he was showing to Ozpin and his group a few days ago. It looks remarkably like a coffin. 'Holy shit it's a coffin.'

'"Is that a coffin?"'

'" _Almost definitely_."'

'"Mortis en machina? Do you know what it means."'

'" _It's in Latin, an ancient Terran language. If I'm remembering correctly, it means 'death from a machine' but, then again, Latin died as a language at least a millennium before I was even born_."'

Brimstone clips his AR to his back and removes his gauntlets, revealing his hands. He places both within two purple-bordered octagons on either side of the top of the coffin, near the bottom end. The purple lines start to glow brightly and Brimstone removes his helmet, clipping it to his belt. For a split second I see an expression of indescribable joy on his face, before he quickly suppresses it.

"Kids. Get ready for some weird shit. Don't worry, they're harmless. Unless you manage to piss 'em off." Brimstone says, his tone amused as a purple light shines from the coffin and engulfs us all.

Now we're standing at one end of a rather impressive room. It is a high-ceilinged hall made of a dark grey stone, with a series of alternating black and white stone columns holding up the ceiling. A series of lanterns line the walls, bathing the stone hall in light.

 **AN: Prepare for MANY historical references. So what, I'm a history nerd. Either way, the dead deserve to be remembered. If not the soldiers, then at least their battlegrounds. All of these are real battles, most of which are in some way historically significant and easy to google.**

Hung on either side of the hall are innumerable large banners, taking up almost all of the available wall space. Each depicts a battle. Near us I see men wielding bows, arrows, spears and more. I see Egyptians, Spartans, Roman Legionnaires and Huns. Above each battle scene hovers the form of what appears to be an angelic woman on wings of fire and light, occasionally two will hover over a battle. One of these appears to be Thermopylae, another the Teutoburg forests.

"C'mon kids, we wouldn't want to be late." Brimstone says, amused. "We're safe here, so take off your buckets and stow your weapons." He orders. We follow his orders to the letter. When everything's safed and stowed we start to walk down the length of the long hall. As we move down the hall, time progresses. I see knights from Europe, samurai from Japan, castle sieges, what appears to be Cowpens, Waterloo, Rorke's Drift and Gettysburg. I see the Somme, Ypres, and Passchendaele, each with a small group of the mysterious figures watching from above. I see Belleau Wood, the Czech Legions fighting their way across Siberia, the Winter War between Russia and Finland. I see the Battle of Wizna and the tenacious Chaussures Ardennais holding the line against the Nazis, I see the fall of France and the Battle of Britain. The D-Day beaches and the Warsaw Ghettos. The victory at Stalingrad and the fall of Berlin. Midway, Iwo, Leyte, Chosin, the Jungles of 'Nam, the Falkland Islands, the blood-soaked sands of the Middle East. Battles without number, from the beginning to the present. And beyond. Battles I know hadn't happened when I left Terra.

I see lasers, railguns and kinetic kill systems. I see nuclear annihilation and biological war. Fighting, weapons and death without end. We near the end and the now-familiar AC forces join the banners. We finally reach the end of the hall, dominated by a massive stained-glass window depicting one final battle, between strange golden warriors and the Alpha Company, surprisingly joined by a small handful of the angelic beings who had once watched from above. A grand set of white stone doors stand below it.

I look down from the window and see a small, unassuming tombstone planted into the floor. It is made from the same strange black stone that the coffin was made out of and inlaid into it in letters made of a strange reddish gem that burned from within are these words.

"In the memory of those who stood and fought and those who follow in their footsteps." I say aloud. Brimstone and Ignis nod. The doors

"That gravestone marks our duty." I hear a woman say, as the doors slide open.


	45. Chapter 45

Ch 45: Wagner's Angels

(Tues, Y+1, M+5, D+4?)

[Unknown Location]

"And who might you be?" I ask, looking up to see a woman dressed in silver armor. In form it looks rather similar to the standard-issue combat armor used by pretty much everybody with any sense at all. On either shoulder pad is a simplified silhouette of a winged humanoid overlaid over a pair of crossed swords. I guess that means that she's important. On her right chestplate is a nametag reading Valheim.

"M'am." Brimstone says respectfully. "This is Kurt Wagner, and his teammates. They're students from a combat academy."

"So I see." The woman says, walking towards us. Just by looking at her, I can tell she has a strong will. That and the fact that she practically radiates confidence. On every spectrum. Oh, yeah, and my psyker-skills are no longer suppressed. It's rather strange, actually, I used to be entirely unaware of this sixth sense and now even a minute or two without it feels rather disconcerting. "So, you are the one we are hearing so much about." She says, standing before us.

"Yes m'am." Sven answers, snapping his right fist to his left breastplate with a clash of armored plates.

"And what exactly is going on here?" I ask Four quietly, sliding up next to him.

"We're currently in Valhalla, in their equivalent of a waiting room." He answers. "That woman is a Valkyrie and pretty much everything else is some combination of complicated or classified, but suffice to say we're here to retrieve one of our own."

"Wait. Isn't Valhalla supposed to be where warriors go when they die? Or at least according to Norse mythology?" I respond. My mind working overtime trying to find out what exactly is going on.

"The Norse legends were close. Dead warriors enter Valhalla, at least those that the Valkyries deem worthy."

"Worthy?" I ask.

"Yes, those who have done their duties with the intentions to protect the innocent are those deemed worthy. Or, at least did what they did without the intention of harming the innocent." The Valkyrie says.

"Oh." I say, a bit embarrassed to have been heard. "Any examples? Of who you'd deem worthy, that is?"

"You're safe, if that's what you're wondering." She says. "All of you." She turns on her heel and beckons us forward. "We should get moving. Time is short."

"C'mon." Three says, clapping me on the back. "We shouldn't keep the nice ladies waiting."

'Time is short? Something's going screwy, isn't it.' I think to myself, as the Valkyrie leads us out of the hall. Outside is a rather large open space, which appears to be a parade ground, covered in clean white stone panels. Surrounding the parade ground are a series of large, heavily armored and reinforced concrete and metal blockhouses. In my personal opinion, they appear to be barracks blocks, armories, and other military buildings. Amongst all of the buildings I see women wearing white and red-tinged silver armor. All armed, all with white, blond, or red hair and all looking like they know full well what they're doing. Some marching in formation to various destinations, others jogging in large blocks singing cadences in beautiful voices, and yet others marching singly or in small groups to wherever it is that they are going.

It appears to be a rather well organized and run military force.

"Impressive." I say, obviously impressed. "Even the Valean Defence Forces aren't this well organized. And nobody on the rest of the planet has even thought about using full-head helmets. They always leave the mouth uncovered. Really a major weakness if you ask me, leaves you open to airborne agents." I rant a little. Just a bit.

"Well we do aim to impress." The Valkyrie says.

"And to kill as I can see." I say, somewhat sarcastically, hearing the crack of rifles in the distance. Likely marksmanship drills. Or markswoman-ship, in this military I guess, since I haven't seen a single man here so far.

"So is this an all-fema-" I ask.

"Yes." The Valkyrie cuts me off. "This is Valhalla-Alpha, the central military base for the city and home of the First Valkyrian Airborne Infantry Corps." She says with a tinge of pride in her voice. She leads on in silence for a few hundred more feet, taking us down what appears to be a main thoroughfare to a grand, important-looking building that somehow maintained the impression that it could still resist an assault of rather significant magnitude. We walk through a set of sliding blast doors into a main lobby, full of armored women moving to and fro, many carrying tablets, boxes or weapons to unknown destinations. Our guide leads us through the building to a rather inconspicuous-looking door marked _Reception E-5_. We enter the room, which looks for all intents and purposes like a doctor's waiting Valkyrie stands to the side of the door and closes it once all of us have entered. Behind a little desk-window-thingy on the right side of the room was an Alpha Company soldier in full combat armor, with a small personal computer. The soldier looks up and starts typing into the computer. An automated door in the opposite wall slides open and a man walks through it.

He is of a rather average height, with a rather impressive build. His hair is a dirty blond and cropped short, with steely blue eyes. He is wearing a black and purple dress uniform with a sidearm and a short sword strapped to either hip. On his chest right above his heart is a silver pin in the shape of two crossed gladii. Below the pin is a line of silver skull pins, seven in all, with the final pin worn upside down. On the opposite side of his chest is a simple name tag reading _Shrike_.

He stands at attention and snaps the same salute I've seen Brimstone and Sven make.

"Sir! Lupus Lead reporting for final dismissal!" He says.

"So I see you've made your choice Brother." Brimstone says, returning the salute. "At ease". Both relax.

"Yes sir, I have." Shike says, his voice a mix of emotions. I can make out traces of sadness, relief, and pride.

"Well then soldier," Brimstone says, taking a tablet handed to him by the Valkyrie and writing something on it with his finger, before shucking off one of his gloves and pressing his thumb onto a highlighted box on the device's frame. He passes the tablet to Shrike and Shrike copies his superior's actions. The tablet changes hands again and pings three times. Brimstone nods and offers his ungloved right hand to Shrike.

"You have served your full term and have opted out. Our databases list you as KIA and your Coffin will be buried with full honors. You are officially discharged from service." The two shake hands. "Good luck brother, see you next Ragnarok."

"It's been a good run si-... brother. Tell Torch the rest of us are here waiting for him, would ya?" Shrike asks.

'What… He's dead?' I think, having the presence of mind to keep my mouth closed. 'Probably shoulda seen that. After all, that was his name on the coffin.'

While I zone out thinking, Brimstone and Shrike finish their business and we walk out. Eventually we make our way back to the hall we started out in, and as we near it I see a few people who look out of the ordinary, men who looked rather like soldiers, all in uniform and armed. Most belonged to one of two groups; one group being musket-armed line infantry wearing blue and yellow uniforms, and the other group appearing to be WWI American Doughboys. Considering everything else up to this point, the two groups are actually what they appear to be, except they've been dead awhile.

It seems like the two groups are heading in different directions.

"Is this some kind of changing of the guard?" I ask.

"Yeah, pretty much." The Valkyrie says.

I also see a few other people milling around and heading elsewhere: a samurai, a redcoat chatting with a Continental Army infantryman, and a Soviet tanker, just to name a few.

We reach the hall, which appears to be named _Ad Memoriam_ , if the words engraved above the entrance are anything to go by.

We enter the hall and the doors close behind us. The inside is the same as I remember it, with the exception of a small stone structure in the very back, just forward of where we arrived. Also present was a man wearing simple grey fatigues, with a bolt-action rifle slung over his shoulder.

The man is looking at one of the many tapestries hanging from the wall; it is of a small band of soldiers holding their own against a large force of what appears to be Soviet troops in a wintry forest.

We approach the man and he turns to look at us. The left side of his cheek is heavily scarred. 'Familiar. Where from?'

"M'am." He says, snapping a salute.

"Warrior." The Valkyrie says. "Why aren't you at your post?" She asks, firm but respectful.

"Sorry m'am, just remembering my old hunting grounds." He says, looking back to the tapestry with something that appears to be fondness. "I just joined the White Guard as sort of a social club. I never thought I'd actually have to go to war. Just thought I would stay for a few years,drop out when I got too old and live a quiet life. Never thought I'd be asked to step up and fight. Never thought I'd ever be called a hero, you know? But that's just me." He says with a chuckle. "Just the words of a bored old man." He turns to the Valkyrie. "Sorry m'am, I'll be getting back on the job now." he says, turning to face the rear of the hall.

"Wait…" I say, a bit hesitantly. The soldier turns to face me. "Sir… would you mind telling me who you are? I feel like I remember you from somewhere."

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt. I'm Simo Häyhä."

"The White Death, the single greatest sniper of all time." I say, a bit shocked to be standing in front of the man who was/is, in my opinion, the greatest soldier ever.

"Well that's kinda surprising kid, never thought that people still remembered me." Simo says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Feels kind nice actually." He says with a bit of a smirk.

"Get moving you two, things are getting hectic back on Remnant." Brimstone says.

"What?" We all say, turning to the soldier.

"Valhalla just started getting a LOT of new arrivals from Remnant, lots of 'em our people." Brimstone says, an edge to his voice.

"Move it!" One orders, and we all start jogging towards the structure in the back of the room. Simo keeps next to me with very little effort.

"So kid, what did they teach you about me?" He asks.

"No clue, I'm amnesiac. I don't remember anything about my life starting from whenever it was that I was born to a bit less than two years ago. And to make things even more weird, I appear to have traveled forward in time and also to an entirely different planet/dimension, which really hasn't been explained to me." I take a deep breath. "But I do suspect that it has something to do with a song I have called _White Death_ , about you. It's by a Swedish power metal band called Sabaton who do their part in ensuring that the soldiers and battles of history do not go unremembered." We reach the structure. I turn to him and snap a salute. "It's been an honor meeting you sir, I only wish we had a bit more time to talk." He quickly returns the salute.

"Well it's nice to know that I'm still remembered, if only by one man. Good luck kid." He says with a slight smirk. With that he heads into the structure, closing a thick metal door behind him. And then I notice that, again, I am bereft of my fancy psyker-powers. 'Great'

"Alright, just arrange yourselves within the stone circle inlaid on the ground. You should reenter the other dimension just about where you left it. Good luck." Simo says over a PA system of some sort. "Jump in 5...4...3...2...1…"

And with a flash of purple light we return to the vault underneath Beacon. To put it simply, the place is a mess.

 **AN: GUESS WHO'S NOT DEAD?!**

 **But yeah, sorry about the wait. I make no promises about how long it will be until the next chapter as I will soon be going to college and am currently undergoing extreme writer's block. But I will keep working on the story at every available opportunity.**


	46. Chapter 46

Ch46: Valkyries and Valhalla

 **AN: to those of you who dislike this kind of thing, I'm sorry. I am aware that this will both answer and create a few questions. Again, sorry, that's just how I tend to work. I'm sorry for being vague but I try to avoid fake pseudosciency-bullshittery whenever possible.**

 **Also, depending on how this goes I may be doing these a bit more often for extra fluff whenever I feel the need.**

 **So let me know if this actually clarified anything. That would be rather helpful.**

Armaments Technology Datafile: Valhalla Introduction Tier 1 Briefing [P]

Security Grade: [Purple]

Released to: [Redacted]

First Accessed: [XX/XX/2644]

Valhalla is the name given to what can best be described as the earliest proof of the so-called 'Multiple Universes Theory' or, at least, to those who know of its existence.

Valhalla is inhabited by the Valkyries, a human sub-species of unknown relation and origin, as well as another sub-species known as the 'Fallen'.

Contact with the Valkyries was made roughly ten years ago, during the first test of an experimental high-powered 'Jump Drive'. This first contact was surprisingly peaceful considering the fact that both parties were heavily armed and warlike. Commanding officers were contacted and soon diplomatic contact was officially begun.

The Valkyries form the core component of a highly-militarized society based around gathering the consciousnesses of fallen warriors and transporting them to Valhalla. They place value on fighting ability, valor, sacrifice, and the defence of civilians. They are incredibly interesting for multiple reasons, chief amongst them being the fact that every single Valkyrie is female [See: _Valhallan Biology (Tier 3 Briefing)_ for more information]. The Valkyries also age at a rate four times slower than that of humans one they reach maturity. In addition to the above, all Valkyries can make use of 'Ira', the same energy harnessed by our own 'Anima' (known as 'Psykes', 'Sykes', 'Wizards', etc among Combat Services). They are limited in its use, however, their primary use of 'Ira' is to conjure up wings made of pure energy that allow them to fly [See: _Ira Introduction (Tier 1 Briefing)_ for further information].

The Fallen are, as far as we are aware, the consciousnesses of dead soldiers transported into an alternate dimension and there given a corporeal form. As far as we know, every soldier that has ever died, either on or off the battlefield, has entered or passed through Valhalla. They age far slower than normal humans, but enter Valhalla in their prime as soldiers, generally between the ages of 17 and 21. The Fallen are barred from entering what the Valkyries dub 'the mortal realms' however, because their forms cannot maintain proper coherency there unaided [See Valhalla Inhabitants: Fallen (Tier 2 Briefing) for further information].

/End of Briefing/

 **AN: Again, sorry about the scarcity of new chapters recently, but I have begun college as of recently and I'm still in the process of getting into a reasonable schedule. Also, on a different note, Sabaton released their new album about a month ago. And it. Is. AWESOME! Utterly GLORIOUS!**


	47. Chapter 47

**AN: GUESS WHO'S BACK!  
WOOOOOOO**

 **But yeah, I'm not dead.**

 **And I have NO intention of quitting this story anytime in the near future.**

Ch47: Charlie Foxtrot

(Tues, Y+1, M+5, D+4)

[The Vault, Beacon]

Brimstone and Ignis quickly remove The Coffin from its housing, and prepare it for transport. Apparently it has a built-in hover device of some description so transport is actually rather simple, just push it forwards. Sven and Ivan move up to get a line of sight around the tangle of machinery.

"Clear." Sven reports back a minute later.

"How's the elevator shaft?" Brimstone asks.

"From here it looks relatively intact, although it is missing both the doors and the actual elevator car itself."

"Good. Move up and get a clear look at the elevator. Make sure it can still get us up to the surface." Brimstone orders.

"Ivan." I order. "You're with Sven."

"Da." Ivan says, and quickly moves up with Sven.

'"Well that was something."' Neo 'says'. I take my helmet off and exhale deeply.

'" _Indeed it was, I'm guessing you didn't recognize half of those tapestries._ "' I reply. '" _But that entire experience was actually rather eye-opening. Never really cared much about what would happen after I die, but all in all those women were rather remarkable._ "'

'"Quiet you."' Neo jabs me in the side with her umbrella, in precisely the right spot to avoid my armored plates.

"Ach!" I rub my side. '" _That hurt. No need to be so jealous. You're still the most beautiful psychopath I know._ "' I stare her in the eyes and wink. '" _And that's what I love about you._ "'

'"You really think I'm a psychopath?"' she mock-pouts.

'" _Hey, it takes one to know one._ "' I respond with a smirk and replace my helmet.

"Sir." Sven comms. "The elevator is totally gone. Nothing to take us up. Enough handholds and debris to use rappelling gear. But it'll take some time unless…" Sven pauses. "Kurt? How far can you teleport?"

"Far enough. But I'll need a visual. I'd rather not bamf **inside** something. Hasn't happened yet but I'd rather not learn how that works the hard way." I reply, heading over to the other side of the underground vault. I wave to Neo and she walks up alongside me.

Sven tosses something into the elevator shaft, it seems to launch itself upwards. 'Huh, drone.'

"Sven. That a drone?" I comm.

"Yep."

"And how exactly do I get to see the recce?"

"I'll patch it to your scroll."

I pull out my scroll from a hardened belt pouch. "What's the wifi code?"

Sven holds out his hand.

"Here." I give him my scroll and he slides a small probe into a port and taps a few commands.

"And that should be good. It's also been linked into our network, so there's that. The two buttons here control altitude, and the little tab here controls direction. Press this to change to IR, heat signatures, that kinda stuff."

"Thanks." I take my scroll back and immediately take stock.

The area outside the CCT's entrance is surprisingly intact, showing only the scars of light and medium weapons. A number of AK-200s lie inactive or destroyed, along with a Paladin. The real issue, however, is the Grimm. There are a lot of them. Mostly Beowolves, Creeps and a few Ursai as heavy 'infantry' support.

They are currently running amok on the grounds, trampling around and it seems that they are guarding the tower. Then, all of a sudden they all turn to one direction and charge. I pan the drone's camera and see Ruby and Weiss heading towards the CCT, cutting their way through a small army of Grimm.

"Scheiße!" I mutter. "Something's wrong… She's still here." I pan the camera up. "Scheiße!"

"You already said that. And who's still here?" One asks.

"Sohn einer Hündin!" I say, rather loudly as I bring the drone up to level with the top of the tower. Cinder v. Pyrrha. I would consider it an entertaining fight, if it didn't look like Pyrrha was doing her damndest to stay alive. And to make the entire citywide shitshow (to which I seem to be getting a mandatory front row seat) worse, a rather large Grimm dragon is inbound from the direction of Mountain Glenn.

"Brimstone! Get your air support on the line! They've got a dragon!" I bark out, panning the drone's camera downwards, to the ground. "I'm going up! K(rak)In! Hold on!" I shout, grabbing onto Ivan and Sven, while I feel Neo hold onto my greatcoat.

*bamf*

I place my scroll in its usual pocket and bring Blue Death to ready, immediately opening fire on the Grimm surrounding the CCT. "Pick your targets and hold this area!" I order. "Cover Me!" I add as I start to move upwards towards Ruby and Weiss. In the distance I can see that there are no longer any airships in the sky. The Alpha Company Firebase however is still putting up one hell of a fight though, I can see tracer fire, missile contrails and the black powder-puffs of air burst munitions covering the sky. If it weren't over the city that I've come to call home, I would have called it beautiful.

Weiss and Ruby pause not far from the tower, the Grimm's numbers starting to dwindle thanks in part to our fire-support and Neo generally being a melee beast. I see she's started using the P90-knockoff I gave her. 'Hooray for common sense. And conventional weapons.'

I turn to figure out how my little sister is doing. Turns out she and Weiss were a bit pinned down by a Nevermore, which had decided to strafe them occasionally while also attempting to dodge the occasional SAM getting thrown its way from the general direction of up. I quickly decided that the origin of the missiles was a problem for later. Knowing my luck, _later_ would be when they started falling on me. But, for now, I just tried to figure out how to take that thing down. There are three main options: call in support, take the thing down myself, or run like hell. Personally I would prefer to save the last for after the previous two have been attempted. And since Brimstone has (presumably) already called in air support, I decide to help Ruby and Weiss out with their not so little flier problem. I dash over to a nearby wall, conveniently at about chest-level. I crouch down and switch Blue Death to sniper form, and I aim for the Nevermore's head.

"Everyone target the Nevermore. On my mark, open fire." I order, switching the fire selector to single shot. '" _Neo, keep the Grimm off of Sven and Ivan._ "' I center my aim on the Nevermore's head. 'Glowing red eyes. Wonderful targets.' I pull the trigger. "Open fire." I order, as my round slams into the armor just barely below the Nevermore's eye, ricocheting upwards and into its eye, blinding it. 'Damn, a bit off.' Milliseconds later, a barrage of rifle rounds slam into the beast, along with a single AP rocket. The bullets do far more damage to the beast than even Dust rounds, and the rocket blasts a wing clean in half, causing the Nevermore to fall to the ground. Weiss then speed-glyphs over to the beast and ends it.

"Quoth the raven; _Nevermore_ " I say aloud, switching Blue Death to AR mode. I walk towards my former teammates. "Weiss! Ruby!" I call out, bringing Blue Death up and placing two bursts into a pair of Beowulves before sensing something behind me, spinning around and unload another pair of bursts into an Ursa Major's head. "Long time no see, Ja?" I jest, reloading my AR.

"Sorry Kurt, can't talk! Pyrrha needs help!" Ruby shouts as Weiss sets up a line of speed glyphs leading to and up the CCT.

"Good. Looks like I won't be the only one." I say, sliding an attachment to the rails under my rifle. Flammenwerfer. Not dust-based either, this baby's got napalm. Amazing what a few textbooks on 'outdated' weapons and techniques can get you. Along with some chem textbooks and school-subsidised weaponry budget, that is.

"Try to keep up sis!" I say, holding my AR in one hand and tossing an abrupt salute with the other.

"No fair Kurt! You can-" I hear Ruby say.

*Bamf* I teleport, entirely intentionally, a half dozen yards above and short the top of the tower itself to get a bit of last-second recon in. What I see isn't good. Mortal-Kombat _Fatality_ not good.

*Bamf* I pull a flying, teleport-tackle into Cinder, knocking her away from Pyrrha. I manage to knock her back a bit.

Okay. She's still got the evil glowing eyes of doom™. Not. Good.

Heavy ordinance:

-Conc-Frags (4)

-AP charges (2)

-Freeze-nades (1)

-Holy Hand grenades (0)

-Flammenwerfer canisters (1+1 in chamber)

-Smoke grenades (4) (Black and blue)

-Tear gas grenades (2)

Recommendation: Purgation by holy flame.

I quickly bamf a few feet back, retaining my momentum and stumbling forewards a few steps. I quickly begin to torch her, as she catches herself and puts up some sort of aura-shield. 'Great.' I back up a few steps and take a hand off of my rifle. I clip my rifle to my back and start running and popping smoke and teargas. I finally notice the MASSIVE FUCKING DRAGON a couple of yards from me.

"Scheiße!" I shout aloud, skidding to a stop. I hear evil laughter. Under most other circumstances it would have sounded actually rather nice. I quickly turn and see Cinder. What are tho-

"AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH" ' . OUT." *Bamf" I reappear on the other side of the tower, just in time to look Ruby in the eyes. My vision's getting blurry, and I'm in quite a good deal of pain. I notice her eyes. So silver I can actually see my own reflection.

"Kurt!?" 'Why does she look so shocked?' Her gaze shifts. "Pyrrha." 'What was I thinking? Oyeah, her eyes. Like freaking mirrors.' "CINDER!" 'Since when did my face look like that?'

*ThumpThump*

You know how they always say in the movies that your life flashes before your eyes when you die? I get the feeling that they're not telling the truth. And it hurts a lot less than I would have guessed. Although I guess that's the shock setting in. And what happened to my fac-

…

*Thud*

…

'"KURT!"'

'" _It's getting so dark..._ "'

'"KURT!"'

…

...

*Swoosh*

…

It's all dark now.

Light. Where's the light coming from?

"What the? What're you doing here kid? Oh…"

…

"Damnit! We better get moving or he's not gonna last. Forget the charges! Load them all in and get on."

"Corpsman! What about her?"

"She's already gone. The other one should be up and around in a few weeks."

"And the Praetorians?"

"We need every second. Don't stop for them. I'll take the fall if need be."

"You're the doctor."

…

"Woah, don't faint on me kid. Didn't expect to see you back here so soon."

…

"You alright? Huh, nonresponsive. Never seen this before."

…

"Wait."

…

"HAH! You glorious stubborn bastard!"

…

"Sir!"

"Yes doctor?"

"Your son…"


	48. Chapter 48

Ch48: That Really Long One Just to Show I'm Not Dead

 **AN: College.**

…

"Huh."

…

"Never expected this to happen."

…

"Least it won't be _too_ boring."

…

"Is he alright?! Don't just stop in the middle like that!"

"Sorry sir, it's just been a long day. Stressful, but your son's alright, he'll make it through. His vitals are stabilizing. Honestly didn't think he'd make it for a minute there."

"I knew he'd pull through. Kid's just too stubborn to let something as simple as death stop him."

"We'll need to keep him here for observation. Just a week or so, nothing very long. How's your other kid doing? The blonde? How's she taking it?"

"She's… Dealing with it."

"We're a… high-turnover post so we've got a number of psychologists. You're more than welcome to bring her in for a few sessions. Your main hospital took a hit so we've got all kinds of people coming through here."

"I'll think about it. She can be a bit stubborn."

"Ughhhh…" I groan aloud, blinking. 'Feels weird. Really weird.' I hear running and realize there's someone standing next to me. '" _Neo_?"'

'"Kurt! You're alright!"' She sounds rather relieved and almost on the verge of tears.

'" _Nice to see you too... What happened? I saw the dragon, then Cinder hit me with something. Then it got… Weird_."' I look over at her. She looks both relieved and concerned.

'"Weird how?"'

'" _Just… Weird. Hard to explain if you weren't there. So what happened? Half my face hurts like hell, and that's just the good part of me._ "' Neo reaches for something. A mirror. She's keeping the reflective side away from me. She hands the small mirror to me.

I've got bandages across the right half of my face.

"Well at least that explains why it feels like I'm half blind." I say, turning my head side to side to get a better look.

"About that." The doctor says. The guy looks AC, seeing as he's wearing what looks like a light suit of combat armor, with a pair of red crossed scalpels on the right shoulder plate, and a red '27' on the left. "We had to take it out."

"What." I deadpan.

"Your eye was half-shredded by shrapnel and cooked well done along with a good third of your face. We had to remove it. We put a putty mixture in to seal it up and prevent infection." He looks to the door and I feel a few people standing just outside. "We'll need to keep you here a week for observation. You were pretty damn lucky that none of it punched through to your brain. One of your visitors has a… proposition for you. Anyway, I have more patients to help. I will be back later to check up on you." The doctor says, walking out.

"Umm. Alright then." I mutter, chuckling a little bit.

"Hey Kurt, how are you feeling?" Dad asks, seeming rather more haggard than I'm used to.

"Nothing minor, just a good deal of pain. Especially in my eye. Which I DON'T EVEN HAVE ANYMORE!" I shout. "Although it is an incredibly interesting insight into how phantom pain works. Or it would be if my tail still didn't hurt like hell every other week!" I say, still rather pissed. "Damn Taurus." I mutter under my breath.

"Well, that phrase's been getting a lot of use as of late." Dad says.

"What the _**hell**_ did he do now." I say, my voice echoing darkly. Dad looks a slight bit shocked. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who heard that echo.

"Umm… He fought Yang…"

"No…" I say. "Is she alright?! What happened!?"

"She lost her arm. Right arm, just about the elbow."

"At least she's still alive." I say, slightly relieved. "And Remnant's got some pretty advanced tech. You guys have prosthetics right?" I ask.

"Well yeah! Of course. Atlas has the best of course, but getting any of it is another matter."

"If you asked nicely, I'm pretty sure that these guys could work out a deal with you, now that I think about it." I muse.

"I'll think about it Kurt." Dad chuckles.

"Ruby!" I say, remembering what happened. "Pyrrha! What happened to them? Are. They. Alright?" I ask, getting a little panicked.

"I was afraid you'd ask that." Dad says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ruby's fine!" He quickly says, seeing my expression. "She's been unconscious for a day or so, exhaustion the docs tell me. She wasn't hurt so I moved her home."

"And what about Pyrrha? What happened to her?" I ask, noticing how dad failed to mention her. I feel the knot of fear in my gut twist just that much more. It had lessened after I learned my sisters and Neo were alright, but I knew that the battle probably got much worse after I went down.

"Her funeral is in three days. The CCT's down so we couldn't reach her family. We tried, but nothing much gets out that doesn't belong to Atlas. Or Schnee. I heard what you and Ruby did yesterday, but the medic who pulled you three off the tower says that she was nothing you could have done. The arrow got her straight through the heart. The doctor said that nothing short of a full surgical suite had any chance of saving her."

"Is Torch still open?" I ask.

"It's still intact. We're working on how best to go about the academy situation but it's still in running order."

"Good. I need to use the forge."

"The doctor sai-"

"I need to pay my respects dad. I'll let the doctor perform a check-up but then I need to go to the forge for a while. When I'm done I'll come back here." I choke up a bit. "I just need to leave her something… fitting."

"Well Kurt, I didn't know you we-"

"It's not religious. Just a measure of respect from a warrior to a fallen sister-in-arms. Nothing less than that." I say, my voice slightly depressed. "She was amazing, you know. Watching her fight was like watching a masterpiece come alive in steel and skill and bronze." I say, my tone filled with steel and the fires of the forge.

"I guess they can't say no to that." Dad says.

"We can." Brimstone says, standing in the doorway, helmet clipped to his belt. "But we won't. The whole damned affair never gets any easier. I'll vouch for you." He says, Three walking in behind him, his helmet also off. Three's green eyes are pensive, and his head bald.

"The doctor said that someone had a… proposition for me." I venture, remembering what the doctor said.

"Yes, actually, I do. Still sharp as ever, that's a good sign." He smirks a little, almost imperceptibly, before taking on a professional air. "I want to talk to you about two things, both sort of related."

"I'd guess one of them's my eye, right?"

"Yeah, actually. Considering how you were severely injured under our watch we're going to provide you with two main options: either we replace your eye or we give you the monetary equivalent of the replacement."

"How would giving me a new eye work? Is it like a cybernetic thing or squishy like my other one?"

"Either option is possible. Giving you a flesh and blood eye would take a while longer though, seeing as we'd have to grow it with your DNA using blood samples and cell cultures. The cybernetics are actually more popular among the troops. Depending on the model they're actually better than your flesh eyes. Targeting systems, IRNV, energy lances and 100x optical zoom."

"Is there a catalog?" I ask, somewhat jokingly, with Neo and Dad standing on either side of my bed. Brimstone turns around, pulls an iPad-type thing from off the top of the desk behind him and hands it to me.

"The power button is on the side and it's keyed to your fingerprint. The cybernetic eyes are listed under 'Optical replacements'. Don't worry about the prices and if you want anything marked 'experimental', it goes through me first." He says.

"Sweet." I say, flipping through the specified models. "How long would the entire process take?"

"Just a week or so for production, transport and installation surgery. Then it'd be a few days to recover from the surgery itself and then a few weeks to acclimatize yourself to the cybernetic. So about a month including acclimatization."

"Okay. So I'd be out of the field for about a month." I say pensively. Dad and Brimstone both give me a strange look. Dad's is a bit concerned and proud while Brimstone's is... well, if I had to imagine what he's thinking it'd probably be something along the lines of _just as planned_.

"What's with the rush Kurt? Don't you want to spend some time at home for once?" Dad says, joking with a slight undercurrent of concern. I'm not surprised, seeing as the only two people in the family that made it out unscathed were him and the dog. Seriously, Zwei is freaking indestructible.

"I just don't like the idea of being combat-ineffective for any extended period of time." I say. "And either way, at the very least I'd check up with you on a regular basis." Brimstone coughs lightly into his fist. I nod to him. He waves at the door and Sven and Ivan walk in.

"I'm going to be blunt to you four." Brimstone says as he gestures to us. "Kurt Wagner, Neapolitan and Ivan Redovitch. The Alpha Company wants to hire you."

"Why?" I ask.

"Here." He says, handing me another pad. "We're offering you a position as Special Forces/Elite Pathfinders, this is the job description and everything we can tell you that's not too heavily classified. We'll give you some time to think about it." He says, walking out. Three's still leaning on the back wall and he walks up to us.  
"Nice to see you're doing well Kurt. You had us scared for a bit there." He smirks. "But it's good to see you all in one piece." His face quickly turns solemn. "I know I'm imposing, with you just waking up and checking with your friends and all but would you mind if we just talked here alone for a while. There's something I need to discuss with you."

"Alright then." I say, somewhat suspiciously. I shrug at Neo, Dad, Ivan and Sven. "I'll be here if you need me I guess." I say, and watch as they all file out. Neo leans on the wall a few yards down the hallway. Ivan and Sven walk off together, and Dad checks his scroll and heads off somewhere.

"So, you wanted to talk to me?" I say. Three shuts the door and taps a few buttons on a pad next to it.

"Have you ever felt anything off about me? Kinda like deja vu? Or a sense that something's just a bit different between me and the rest of my fireteam?"

"Yeah. A bit, and I would guess you've felt similar things with regards to me."

"Yeah. I'm what's called an 'Anima'. We're pretty much space wizards, psychics, that kinda thing. That's a bit of an oversimplification but I think you get the point. I'm one and you're almost certainly one. We just need to run a few tests on you after the doc OKs it. To confirm what type of Anima you are exactly."

"And how exactly does that work?"

"To be honest every time they tell me it gets more confusing. But the short version is we're going to use a special device to find what is effectively a second nervous system in your body. Based on the position, arrangement, and type of these nerves we can determine roughly what it is that you are capable of. For example I'm more of a mental Animus. I can read minds, do telepathy and form energy bolts. The others have taken to calling those 'mind bullets'. But the powers vary from person to person. Some people can lift tanks with their minds. Others can rip them apart with their hands. There are others I could tell you about, but the specifics are classified."

"And how common are these abilities?"

"Well, that's also classified but a part of the reason Brimstone gave you the offer is the fact that you're almost certainly one of us. Suffice to say that 'us' doesn't include very many people."

"And what exactly are the other parts of the reason for the offer? I can guarantee you that at least two thirds of hunter cadets are as good as or better than us and professional hunters simply blow us out of the water. So why Ivan, Neo and I?"

"First of all, you're the only people out of that group we know we can trust. From Sven's reports we can tell that you haven't spread the big secret to very many people." He smirks. "And then there's the fact that you remind us of the people we went through advanced training with. We kinda see a bit of ourselves in you kids. And we like what we see."

"Well that seems to be a rather flimsy argument for recruiting four barely-adults into military service."  
"Well technically you'll still have to go through a battery of tests to get the slot in the program. Sven's in a pre-program training course right now and the next battery of tests are in eight months or so. They're every two years. Anyone not recruited into the program at least five months before the tests is ineligible for that battery of tests. So yeah. Don't take too long to make your decision."

"And what happens if I don't make the tests?"  
"What do you think happened to me?" He smirks and turns around to leave. "But I don't have any doubts about you and your team Kurt. You all have the right look to you. I honestly have a hard time believing that you've only been training here a year and half, you and Ivan hit quite a bit above your level."

"Ivan's only been here a few months." I say.

"Really? You two didn't show up at the same time?"

"I don't think so. When I found him he was being interrogated by some terrorists. He said they'd found him in the forests nearby and had been keeping him there for a while. Don't know how long, but he was still in good enough shape to curse rather… loudly… in Russian. Actually how I found him." Three gives me a look. "What? If you hear a guy cursing loudly in something that sounds Russian on a planet where everyone speaks English, would that not spark curiosity?"

"Fair point." He gestures, conceding. "But seriously, you guys act like you've had some degree of SF training. Ganted it's mixed in with a bit of Hunter training but still."

"No clue. Seriously. If anything it's from our previous lives, but since we're both amnesiac about everything up to our arrival here we've got no clue." I shrug. "Either way, when I showed up I was wearing-" I start counting off on my hand. "Cargo pants, a shirt, my greatcoat, my Colt: empty, five magazines, a spare round, an Iphone and charger, and a folding knife." I say, gesturing over to the pile of my stuff. "The greatcoat, knife and Colt should be over there. Along with a good deal of other hardware, if everything on me made it back in one piece."

"Huh." Three walks to the pile and picks up the Colt, checks the chamber and safety, and then examines it. "Damn, this thing's old. Definitely not a modern model, no gauss coils and made with some almost obsolete materials."

"Gauss coils. Never got the chance to ask about those. How effective are they?"

"If you use the highest power selection on our rifles, you can reliably take out tanks. Granted it burns out a fresh set of coils after 20 rounds, and it helps to take into account the usual rules of tank hunting but you can do it."

"And how exactly could I obtain gauss coils?"

"They're standard-issue. If you join up, that is."

"Always a price." I chuckle.

"Well." Three says, checking something in his helmet. "I guess I should be going now, don't want to keep your guests waiting too long." He walks over to the side of my bed and holds out a hand. I take it. "Try not to do anything too dangerous while you're healing." He says, shaking my hand. When he leaves, I feel something in my hand. A small, metal card inscribed with something. A metal business card. Well then. Before I can read it, Neo walks in and hops onto the bed, laying down next to me, I slide over to give us both some room. I place the card next to the datapads on a side table. She snuggles up to me.

"So," I say, turning to look her in the eyes. "What'd I miss?" She looks me in the eyes.

'"After the dropship picked you up we fought our way back to the airship docks, there were still some students and teachers holding out along with some Atlesians and the other soldiers we came here with. Apparently they were supposed to leave but refused to until everyone was out. We waited for another set of airships to take the others back to the city then we left in the armored trucks that we came in. Then we watched as they finished your surgery. And then we waited."

"How long was I out?"

'"Three days and eleven hours."'

"Well."

'"Your aura was shattered and you were hurt badly. They said you'd take at least a week."'

"Well I guess I'm just stubborn."

"I'll say." I hear from Dad.

"You're one to talk, old man."

Dad just chuckles.

"So, what happened to everyone else? JNPR, RWBY, and the rest of Beacon?"

"Well." He sighs.

"Not good, I'm guessing."

"No. Ruby managed to take out the dragon, sorta."

"How?"

"You'd have to ask Qrow, but good luck getting him to say much of anything." He says, slightly bitter. "But the Dragon-Grimm… thing… isn't exactly dead. It's stuck there, not doing anything."

"...Wait… Did she petrify the damn thing?"

"Petrify?"

"Turned it to stone."

"Seems like it. But it looks like it's still attracting Grimm. Beacon's pretty much overrun."

I chuckle. "So my little sister's Medusa…" I laugh.

"What? Like the Grimm? Wha-"

"Nononono." I hold up a hand to forestall anything further, still chuckling a bit. "Medusa, an ancient legend from back where I'm from. A half woman, half snake, with hair made of snakes that could turn people to stone with but a glance." I say, smirking a bit. "Not a perfect comparison, seeing as Ruby's neither a monster nor cursed by a wrathful god, but still kinda funny to me." I take a second to recompose myself. "So, Ruby's fine?"

"The soldiers that brought you here also picked up Ruby and Pyrrha. The doctor said Ruby was fading in and out of consciousness but eventually just went under on the way back. He also said she should be waking up within the week."

"Let me know when she wakes up, okay?"

"The CCT's down."  
"Dammit." I mutter. "So how are Weiss, Blake and JNPR?"

"According to Yang, Weiss' father took her back to Atlas and Blake left. She didn't say where to."

"Well. Seems like I'll have some work to do when I get outta here." I say, already plotting.

"And that would include?" Dad asks, while Neo looks at me with a knowing smile.

"I've said it before Dad. I'm going to war. I don't care who's in command. It could be me, it could be these guys" I gesture to the facility. "It could be the good General Ironwood. All I know is that war is coming. We didn't want it but it's here. The Wehrmacht marches on Poland. To hope and pray for peace is useless. All attempts to negotiate with our foe shall be for naught and any resource not put to the full and immediate mobilization of this world's free peoples is a resource wasted." I say, staring out the window to my right and seeing the scars of combat upon the city. "We must stand as one or we will die alone." I say. "Which is why sitting in this MURPHYDAMNED BED is really going to piss me off." I say, putting my arm around Neo. "Or at least it will when there's nobody around." I say, giving Neo a small kiss on the forehead.

"So, what's Ozpin going to do about Beacon? He going to move it to Signal?"

Dad pales a bit and grimaces. "Ozpin's missing. Nobody knows what happened to him, not even Qrow."

"Oh. I honestly thought that he was some degree of immortal." I say.

Dad just gives me a strange look.

"I dunno, he just gave off that kinda vibe to me. He seemed like he was more powerful than he looked. After all, he was in charge of a combat school. Kinda seems like a skill-based position, don't it."

Neo rests her head on my shoulder and nuzzles into my neck. I place my chin on top of her head.

"So, how long do you think it will take for classes to begin again?"

"A while. Getting the CCT back up is still the top priority, once Atlas can get the parts together for a new one.

"And about how long would 'a while' be?"

"Minimum of four months to assemble the parts. At least one for travel, assuming nothing goes missing. Or at least according to Ironwood."

"You met with Ironwood? When?"

"Just a day ago. He left as many troops as he could spare before he left for Atlas."

"They're gonna have to seriously rework their military." I mutter.

"Huh?"

"I mean, their entire strategy was based around remotely-controlled foot mobiles and mechs. They have been recently taught the painful lesson that those can be hacked. Of course that lesson pales in comparison to the fact that they now lack the long-range communications provided by the CCT. As such, they must now adapt to two major flaws in their military." I sigh. "And in addition, the four kingdoms must now either dig in or launch an offensive."

"You sound like you've got it all planned out already." Dad chuckles.

"Like hell I do." I respond with a laugh. "I just know what needs to happen, not the how. I feel my skills lie more in the troubleshooting department. I find trouble…"

"Or it finds you." Dad remarks.

"Indeed." I smirk. "And I shoot it. Repeatedly. Until it ceases to be trouble."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're going to get into some sort of quest as soon as you possibly can?"

"Well I have kinda been foreshadowing something along those lines. Although I'm seriously considering signing up with this outfit." I say, gesturing to the room around me. "After the rest of the team and I go over the legalese and documentationary stuff."

'"Were any of those actually words?"'

'" _Not in the slightest_."'

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it. I need to make sure I'm at home in case Ruby wakes up. I'll check up on you around lunch tomorrow." Dad says, and waves as he walks out.

"Wait." I say, and Dad turns to look at me. "I'll probably be at Signal just after lunch, in the forge. Also," I think for a second, "Does Signal have much in the way of bronze?"

"I think so." Dad says, and waves as he walks out.

"Now we just wait until Ivan and Sven get back to talk about important things."

'"So what now?"'

'" _Whatever you wish to do, my dear. Within reason, of course_."' I smirk as we stare into each other's eyes. We lean into each other and lock lips.

(Sat, Y+1, M+5, D+8)

[Recovery Room 45, Firebase Alpha]

 **AN: Still the same day, just felt the need to point that out**

I sense Ivan and Sven approach the room. It's a little annoying attempting to locate them due to the sheer number of people in the hallways. Although finding Ivan is easier, due to the fact that almost nobody in the entire base has an Aura. It really helps to identify people, like a shining beacon of shiny soul-shininess… that shines. It's very shiny. Neo snuggles into my arm and I tap her on the nose.

'" _Boop_."'

'"Isn't that the pink girl's thing?… Nora, isn't it-"'

'" _Yep. Correct on both counts. But I like it, so I decided to take it_."'

'"Just like you took my heart."' We both stare for a second before we break down giggling. Me aloud and her in my head, although she mimicked the physical motion rather well.

"Looks like you two were having fun." Sven says, as he and Ivan walk into the room.

"Up yours, Sven." I smirk. "So, now that everyone's all together, I do believe that we've been given a job offer." I say, picking the datapad up off of the side table to my right. Which was actually kind of annoying, considering my newly-acquired blind spot. Fortunately I'm not actually fully blind to that area, considering my extranatural sensory abilities, but it is still annoying not having my right eye. And the putty they'd filled the hole with is starting to itch. Which seems like a small problem compared to the fact that I can sense the rough number of people in the medbay. It's a rather significant number. And also just a bit unpleasant, considering the number of people in a… distinct… amount of pain and suffering.

"So, let's just open this thing up." I mutter, placing my thumb to a highlighted area for scanning. "C'mere you two." I say, waving Ivan and Sven over. I shift to the right, Neo moves onto my lap and Ivan vaults over the hospital bed's rail and lands next to me. Sven smirks and walks over to the other side of the bed, ending up on my right. "Did you get one of these Sven?" I ask, tapping the screen. "The job offer, that is."

"Yes, a few months ago, after I got through basic and the SABs."

"Eh?"

"Service Aptitude Batteries. A series of tests to determine where you would best fit in the Armed Services. Also used to screen for Special Forces and other programs, which is how I got here."

"Fair enough. So why'd you join up?"

"Why does anyone else join the army? Fight for humanity, see the galaxy, and all that kinda stuff. The fact that my family have been mercs for nearly two centuries didn't exactly broaden my choices either."

"Two centuries?" Ivan says, sounding slightly impressed.

"Closer to one and a half centuries but yeah, ever since the the late 25th century at least one member of my immediate bloodline was in service with a Private Security group. So far members of my family have served in two world wars, at least twelve major conflicts and upwards of a hundred guerilla conflicts, brushfire wars, and 'combat advisements'. As it turns out, that's not all that uncommon amongst mercenary families."

"Mercenary families? How common is that particular phenomenon?"

"Rather common. Considering the fact that most of human territory is made up of small territories, and the rest is a few megacorps. Armaments Technology is one of those, and Alpha Company is the militarized wing."

"Huh. Well then. While I would love to hear the whole history lesson right now, methinks we should get back on track. So. Job description."

"Kurt. There. Am I reading this right?" Ivan asks, pointing to a sentence.

"If it says 'Ten year tour of duty' then yes, or we're both going crazy… er."

'" _Neo_?"'

'"I see it too. And I do like that paycheck. And over ten years..."'

"Well Neo you do make a good point." I chuckle. "Ivan, look at that paycheck."

"Where? Oh wait… I see it… Hoooo-leeee shit."

"Yeah, the pay's not bad either." Sven says with a smirk.

"I'd say so, but if they're willing to pay this much, what the hell exactly are we going to go up against."

"Well I don't know exactly, but if the rumors I heard are right, then a fireteam of people like Brimstone were the first sent in to Remnant. Fireteam… Gladius, I think it was."

"Aaanndd?" I ask.

"Well they're PRAETORIANs, best of the best and damnation take the rest kinda thing. And considering the local… wildlife… I would imagine Command considered it more efficient to send a fireteam of four highly trained killing machines in semi-powered armor armed with top-spec… well.. Everything… to a planet in the middle of the almost literal ass-end of nowhere."

"Fair point. I mean, I haven't really been that far outside the city, and while Mountain Glenn wasn't all that terrible, I get the sense that things get worse in an exponential way, as opposed to your usual gradually becoming more terrible kinda way. I get the feeling that an above-average amount of Murphy's Law was applied to this planet."

"Fair enough, you've been here longer than me after all." Sven says.

"How long have you guys been here, actually?" Ivan pipes up from my left.

"About a year, from preliminary recce to what you see now. We tend to scale up fast."

"How fast?" I ask.

"Five firebases. One in or near each city plus one tossed somewhere else, just for good measure."

"And you've been to all of them?"

"The ones that have cities around or near them yes. Not the fifth. Don't even know where it is."

"Alright then. So, back to this tablet-y thing." I scroll down a bit.

[Later, Recovery Room 45, Firebase Alpha]

"Hey doc, I'll be gone for a bit. Just an FYI." I say, poking my head out of the doorframe while flagging down someone who looks vaguely doctorrish.

"Wait what?"

"I'll be back in a coupla hours."

"Where are-"

*BAMF*

'That felt soo good. Haven't done that in far too long.'

I walk up to the door and knock on it and wait until someone opens it.

"Kurt!" I hear as a red blur performs a rather impressive flying tackle from halfway across the living room, past a rather stunned dad and straight into a man still recovering from something roughly equivalent to taking a fragmentation grenade full-on in the face.

*THUD*

*THUMP*

"AGGHHHHHHGHHGHHGHGHGHGH!"

"Sorry."

"It's alright Ruby. It's nice to see you too." I chuckle as I stand up and pat myself down.

"I'm just glad that you're still…" She says, hugging me tightly.

"Hey. Nobody's more glad about that than I. How's Yang taking it?" I say, hugging her back until she lets go.

"Not very well." She says sadly.

"Well, let's see if I can do anything about that." I say, walking inside.

"Nice to see you back Kurt." Dad says.

"Hasn't been THAT long." I chuckle. "And either way, I'm kinda looking at this as an upgrade. An unintentional, unrequested, incredibly painful upgrade."

"Upgrade?" Ruby asks.

"Yeah, Alpha Company's going to pay for a new eye. I could have chosen a biological replacement, but personally I think the cybernetic replacement will be better. And I've already chosen the model. Full visual spectrum, laser targeting, full HUD compatibility, limited AI/APP integration potential, a fancy red tint and, most importantly, A FRICKIN' LASER BEAM PROJECTOR INTEGRATED INTO THE RETINA." I say, VERY excited. "In other words. I can LITERALLY give a death glare with this thing."

Ruby proceeds to squee. It is the squeesest squee that I have ever witnessed being squeed.

"Aaaaannnnddd there go my ears." I say flatly, as they are still ringing. I rub my ears a bit. One of the few downsides of being Faunas, an increased susceptibility to sound and light-based assault is probably at the top of the list.

"PUPPY!" I shout. As I see our dog poke his head into the room. I lunge towards him, landing stomach-first on the ground in front of Zwei and grabbing him behind the ears and rubbing him. He licks my face happily. "I missed you puppy."

"Really?" Dad says. "You weren't that excited about seeing me."

"You aren't small, fluffy and adorable. Or a puppy."

"Well I will grant you that." He says, walking over to me, still on the floor.

*ARF* Zwei happily licks my face as I hold his face in front of mine.

"Whosaflufflypuppy? Youare! Youare!" I say in that voice everyone uses when talking to animals and small children.

After another few minutes of puppytime, I decide that it would be a good idea to visit my generally more… fiery… sister.

I stand up.

"So Yang's in your guys' room?" I ask.

"Yeah. She's kinda mopey." Ruby says.

"More like full-on depressed." Dad says.

"I was afraid of that." I respond, patting myself down. "Let's see if I can help." I mutter.

"Feel free to try, but we've just been letting her work it through." Dad says.

"Well, I guess I'll see if a different tack helps." I say, turning around and walking to Ruby and Yang's room. Once I reach it I rap my knuckles against the doorframe and walk in. "Hey Yang." I say, walking up to her as she lay in her bed, staring aimlessly out the window.

"Hey Kurt. Where've you been?" She says, her voice monotone.

"It's rude not to look at people when you're talking to them." I say, a hint of mirth in my tone.

She grudgingly turns to look at me.

"What happened to you?" She says, a hint of concern present.

"Cinder happened. I got to the top of the tower a bit before Ruby. Damn close business. Guess I won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon." I chuckle a bit ruefully.

"How can you be joking at a time like this? We lost so much…"

"Really? I hadn't noticed. That's kinda how life works. You live, you love and you lose. I've lost quite a bit already." I chuckle a bit. "I've lost-" I start counting on my fingers "In order of most recent to least recent." I add. "My right eye, a good friend and honorable warrior, my favorite school, countless classmates and teachers, a good deal of my sanity and innocence, my tail, and before that, every day of roughly two decades of my life." I sigh. "I still wonder about that, you know? What was it like? Who was I? What'd I miss? Did I have a loving family? Friends? What did I do? What kind of person was I?" I ask softly and place a bare hand on her shoulder. "The most important thing, however, is this: it never stopped me." I look Yang right in the (right) eye. "I will never let it stop me. The only thing those bastards can ever do is give me a reason to fight harder. Every slight, every wound, every death is another reason for me to burn them and all they stand for into ash. To let this pain and sorrow stop me would be nothing less than an insult to all who have fallen before me. So I now I must lick my wounds, mourn the fallen, and make my preparations. But when I'm healed, when I'm ready, when I know where they are and when the time is right… **Nothing** will stop me. And when you're ready once more, I expect nothing less from you." I say to her, softening my voice on the last sentence. I grab her other shoulder and pull her into a hug. "I know you'll make it through this." I say as she hesitantly returns my gesture as best she can.

"You can let go now." She says, a slight hint of mirth behind her words.

"On a more serious note though, what happened to everyone else? I know how K(rak)IN ended up, but the rest of JNPR and half of RWBY never actually came up."

Yang sighs.

"I thought you wanted to cheer me up?"

"I want you to cheer up soon. Mourning the fallen is an important step in healing. And after all, I still need to know what happened to my friends."

"Why don't you ask Ruby?"

"Well you were the only one of us not unconscious this entire time."  
She sighs again. "Jaune, Ren and Nora are all as fine as they could be right now."

"Weiss and Blake?"

"Blake left."

"What."

"She left. She ran. Sun told me. Once everything was over, she just left. She abandoned us."

In return, I sigh. "That's what she always used to say, isn't it?" I stare at the ceiling for a second and groan. "She thought that because her semblance was best suited to helping her run away, that she was doomed to live a life of flight."

"I thought she'd gotten over that."

"Apparently not." I sit down on the edge of the bed. "And Weiss?"

"Her father took her back to Atlas." Yang says bitterly.

"When?"

"Just a few days ago."

"Great. Now everyone's all gone to the winds." I mutter. "If you ever need help with something, try and let me know. I'll probably be out for a while. Thinking of signing up with Alpha Company."

"I thought you wanted to be hunter too."

"Well Beacon's not going to be livable anytime soon. And I've got a bone to pick with the White Fang and Cinder's crew. Plus, merc-ing sounds fun. Join the army- see the world- meet new and exciting people- and then proceed to shoot them in the face. Ya know, the usual spiel. And after all, it gives me a chance to run around the planet with my teammates, play with guns, and solve new and complex problems. Usually with said guns and teammates."

"You've got it all planned out, don't you."

"Like hell I do." I chuckle. "Ever since I woke up in the middle of that damn forest I've been flying by the metaphorical seat of my pants." I say, pointing out the window to the forest beyond and patting the holster on my left hip. "And I damn near paid for that with my life. Multiple times, in fact." I chuckle softly.

"You've changed. You used to be much more, well, cheery."

"You're one to speak." I smirk. "Now, if you'll excuse me I've got _things_ to do."

"What? What kind of _things_. You don't do _things_."

"Yes, I do indeed. These are forge _things_ , which I will be using Signal's forge to make. Because somehow my fanciest guns are still in what is now effectively a bunker in the center of a large, grimm-infested and likely soon-to-be bombed-out school. So. I will be making things, mass producing specialty ammunition and a couple of things to leave for a good friend. And all of it running on one eye." I stand up and walk to the door. "Get up on your feet and do something, you'll feel better." I make a curt wave and walk out.

"Yeah. I'll think about it."

I turn a corner in the hallway and see dad and Ruby staring at me. Dad raises an eyebrow and gestures questioningly towards Yang's room.

"I'm not a psychologist. I may have helped, but I'm not entirely sure. Best guess is at least she'll be out of the bed and doing something. Either way I can only be out of the medbay for so long before the docs get angry so I'll be at Signal working on a couple of personal projects. I'll be back later." I say, before another thought pops into my head. "Oyeah! I'm on the waiting list for a cybernetic eye."

"Cool!" Ruby shouts, running up to me. "What'll it do?"

"Full spectrum visual sensors, HUD uplink, laser projector and a target designator. All free of charge since the injury happened on their watch and because they're currently trying to get KrakIN to sign up with them. Got a couple of fancy tablets with the details and everything."

"So, you're going to turn them down right?" Ruby says, skipping over the- "Of course the new eye is reallysupercoolandallandlasersaresocoolbuthardtocoolandhowaretheygoingtfiththatallinsuchasmall-" 'Aaaand there's the Ruby I all know and love. I know some people look down on her as some idealistic little immature kid, and while those traits occasionally show themselves, she's so much smarter than most people give her credit.' I muse as she goes off thinking out loud spittingwordslikeaminigunspitsbullets.

"Quite frankly I've got no clue how they do it, but I guess I'll figure it all out at some point. But, more importantly, why did you think I was just going to dismiss their offer? I'm not angry or hurt or anything bad, just a bit confused."

"Well, I thought you wanted to become a Hunter to help people, to defend Remnant."

"I joined to defend people, yes. But being a Hunter is kinda unlikely as of now. Seeing how Beacon's been overrun and a decent chunk of the teaching staff missing, dead or wounded I don't think there's much room for advancement in that particular direction. Joining the Alpha Company is just my way of moving forwards. Plus-" I grin cruelly and crack my knuckles. "These guys seem like they're gearing up for war with the 'fang, the Grimm, and whoever it is that CInder's with, and I have a score to settle with them. There are a number of people who need to be given a nice pat on the back… from a few hundred meters away… with an anti-materiel rifle." I flash a predatory smile. "In the bullet's way, the White Death's prey." I bring my rifle to my shoulder and stare down the sights, pointed off to the side. "Say goodbye." I say, mimicking recoil. "Bang."

"I'm going to be honest here Kurt, I'm not sure you're thinking straight here. I think you should just calm down and pull yourself back together, we should have a new, temporary, school prepared near Signal in about eight to twelve months." Dad says.

"That's not soon enough. The enemy won't just wait around for us to all finish Hunter training. Back on Terra, basic training took about three months at the longest, with extra time tacked on for specialist training. That's Alpha Company's model too. In three months I'll be ready for combat. And in about eight or so months, I'll be put through a battery of tests for some spec-opsy type program. Of course during all of this, I'll be effectively a corporal in charge of my current team, rebranded as a fireteam and we'll be paired with another fireteam and placed under tutelage of a pair of veterans. In all honesty I'll probably be as safe as I was at Beacon, if not more so."

"I'm not so sure about that last one Kurt." Dad says.

"Well either way, I've got things to do and daylight's a-burnin. So if you could sign me a note for Signal's forge I've got a couple of things to work on for Tuesday."

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm going to make something for the funeral, my own way of paying my respects." I say solemnly.

"Alright then." Dad says, sympathy in his tone.

(Mon, Y+1, M+5, D+10)

[Recruitment office, Firebase Alpha]

"Are you three absolutely certain about this?" The recruiter asks. "I am required to tell you that once you sign on you are required to serve for ten years and barring medical or conduct discharge you will be contractually obliged to follow the chain of command and submit to the official Alpha Company Codes of Military Justice. All of this begins the second you finish signing your name to the recruitment documents. I will leave the room and you three will be allowed to deliberate without any supervision or interference on our part. When you leave the room, hand me the three tablets on the table there. If they've been signed then basic training will start as soon as the Docs okay you." The recruiter points to me. "So, you'll have as much time as you want to discuss amongst yourselves. Technically no Alpha Company personnel can be present during the signing, so Initiate Hall cannot be present. C'mon." Sven and the recruiter (who actually lacks a name patch on his fatigues) both leave the room.

"So, anyone have anything they'd like to say?" I ask of my teammates.

Neo shakes her head. '"I've been a mercenary for five or six years already, and I don't have any problems going back. At least there'll be more action than being a Hunter. And better pay."'

'" _Fair enough._ "'

"I've got no problems with this. It's not like we've got many more marketable skills." He says, leaning on the desk in the middle of the room. "Plus these guys are Terrans, they're the closest we'll ever get to our old homes."

"And I personally think that this looks fun as all hell. Plus, to be entirely fair, I remain entirely unimpressed with the military forces of Remnant. They're professionals to a point, but the last time they had a major war was generations ago. They're not used to much beyond low-intensity policing ops. And the most experienced individuals at arms aren't even formally organized, with the sole exception of maybe a company or two of Atlesian 'specialists'. At least Alpha's a trained, organized force. With air support. And an orbital element. Which makes me almost giddy with excitement." I realize I've gone a bit off topic. "Well, either way, it sounds like we're all agreed. Shall we?" I say, taking a couple of steps to the central desk and take the three tablets off of the desktop and pass them around. We each turn the tablets on and quickly read through the contracts once more before using a provided stylus to sign our names. Next the tablet prompts me to press my finger to a lighted section. I follow the instruction and feel a slight prick as the tablet takes what I assume to be a blood sample.

Ivan mutters something in Russian.

"Having trouble?" I ask with a smirk.

"Blasted tablet isn't working with my finger!" He says angrily.

"You do know there's a stylus, right? Top left corner, inset into the case." I advise.

"Oh… well then. Quiet you!" He says, pointing a finger at Neo, who's smirking and miming a giggle. In response she grins evilly and mimes shock. "Don't play innocent with me." Ivan "I know what you've done." He smirks and turns to me. "And whom you've done."

"Which makes me wonder why you're messing with her, even as a joke. Seriously, even I'm not usually that crazy." Neo sticks out her tongue. I spin towards her and point. "And don't antagonize him, he does have a rocket launcher, after all. And a tendency to gossip." I quickly redirect, in time to see Ivan's smirk shift to a fake pout. A surprisingly convincing pout.

'"What? I can't mess around with my gay friend?"'

The metaphorical gears in my head grind to a halt, with the sound of a scratching record. "Wait. Really?" I reverse again to Neo, whose face bears a slight smirk. "Who with? And why hasn't anybody told me about this… development?" Ivan starts to sidle towards the door. I spin on the spot and jab a finger towards him accusingly. "And don't you try to get out of this. When we get out of here we're all going back to my room and we're going to talk about this. But seriously. Ivan?" I say, softening my tone.

"Yeess?" He says, with some trepidation.

"Who's the lucky guy?"


	49. Chapter 49: Announcement

Ch49: Announcement: Why Are We Here?

As a note to all of you, dear readers, I am starting a second series of indeterminate length based in a slightly AU (2016-ish) Black Lagoon world. It's the story of a Marine Raider who manages to get himself dragged into a shitstorm of monumental proportions. Just guess who he is.


End file.
